In an interview with France Bleu Maine, ACO president Pierre Fillon indicated that future LMP1 regulations would go to lengths to keep costs under control. A potentially major part of this could be to reduce the number of hybrid systems in each car from two to one for the next regulation cycle, which is now set for 2020.

“We will allow for innovation, but we won’t allow multiple hybrid systems,” said Fillon on the Bleu Maine radio station. “There will only be one hybrid system in the car of the future.”

Whilst the move may well signal a further reduction in permitted energy recovery systems – down from two to one. It is possible that the method of energy recovery and energy storage system could be defined – or even that a spec system could be possible.

Last week’s FIA WEC 2017 technical regulations confirmed the ACO’s focus on lowering costs for LMP1 manufacturers. The most noticeable measures included lowering the number of body works used per manufactuer each season down to two, (instead of three last year) limiting the personnel allowed in the pits and reducing the number of tyres used during six-hours racing events by a third.

It also pushed for changes away from the circuit, reducing the number of private testing days, capping the length of wind tunnel occupancy to 800 hours (instead of 1200 in 2016).

Cost reduction is an imperative for the ACO, as it aims to make way for the arrival of new manufacturers and/or the return of Peugeot Sport.

“We are working with Carlos Tavares [the CEO of PSA Group], we are working with other manufacturers, and we are predominantly aiming for cost reduction,” added Fillon. “We’ve had very innovative technologies associated with hybrid systems.

“Competition was so intense between Porsche, Audi and Toyota that it led them to make their systems even more sophisticated. That is how costs rose.”

Last season, all three LMP1 manufacturers relied on lithium batteries fed by one or two energy recovery systems [ERS]. There were strong considerations about introducing a third ERS in a new set of regulations, which would have most likely permitted manufacturers to reach energy recovery packages of 10 MJ but at the expense of a significant increase in costs.

With Audi pulling out of the WEC and Peugeot indicating that it was against the introduction of this third ERS, the ACO decided to put the existing set of regulations on hold until 2020.

A transcript of the interview in French can be found HERE >>>