“The new engines will represent the absolute cutting edge of internal combustion engine technology,” White added. “They will achieve fuel consumption and performance levels that are much, much better than anything that exists anywhere in motorsport and probably better than anything that exists on the road. The engines that we are going to develop are absolutely as cutting edge and as close to the limit as mankind knows how to do as the present generation of engines. But the target is not the same.”

Not only are the current manufacturers in the series — Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari — working hard to produce this more relevant engine, but there is talk that Honda is considering returning to the series — after a four-year absence — in order to take advantage of the marketing benefits of the new rules and objectives.

From a fan’s point of view, all of this may risk changing the style of racing, because a different type of driver may be needed to achieve the best results.

“What is certain is that the work of the driver facing these new engines will be different,” said Alain Prost, a four-time world champion and now an ambassador for the Renault car company. “Each generation of driver is asked for something different, and this one will be about managing energy. All that will be generated electrically, and according to the tracks, according to the races, if you are in tow, and all sorts of parameters that we cannot know about at the moment. I think the driver will have to work a lot more to understand how the system works, along with his team, to be able to optimize what he has. I think the driver who is intelligent, curious and interested will make a difference.”

A paradox is that the new engine, which arose in part out of the financial crisis, will cost a lot more to buy.

The current engine costs about €15 million per season for a team, and each driver in the team has the right to use eight of the engines. Next year the price will go up to roughly €20 million, and as part of the cost reduction and efficiency, each driver will have the right to use only five per season in 2014 and four in 2015.

But as Jalinier noted, what Renault Sport charges the teams for use of the engines doesn’t cover the cost of making them. The Renault car company covers the losses, considering it an investment in the marketing tool that the engines represent.