Toro Rosso Team Principal Franz Tost has accused Formula 1's engine manufacturers "of stalling for time with regard to the introduction of future power unit regulations," according to Ian Parkes of AUTOSPORT. FIA President Jean Todt and F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "threatened the introduction of an independent engine unless Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda came up with suitable proposals to address costs, supply, performance and noise." But talks over the details "remain ongoing, and asked whether anything had changed" in the two months since the announcement, Tost replied, "They play it quite clever. They play the time card, and the longer we discuss, the less solutions we will come up with." Tost is "adamant the manufacturers should bear the brunt of the costs given the relevance of the power unit to road-car technology." Tost: "And what we missed in those days was saying, 'OK, if manufacturers are in Formula 1, if they come up with this new technology, which is technology for the future, then they should also pay for the possibility to present something all over the world, as a marketing tool.' They should pay for this, not the private teams. Now, it's the case that the private teams are covered with very high costs and this is not the correct way" (AUTOSPORT, 3/16).
