F1 teams agree on extra MGU-K for 2020 with 22 races

Formula 1 teams have agreed to increase the allowed allocation of MGU-K engine elements for the 2020 season.

With the addition of a 22nd race on the 2020 calendar, F1 is set for its longest-ever campaign next year, and in a bid to cope with the demands of an extended season, teams have pushed for more leeway with power unit components.

Teams will now be able to run a third MGU-K element, the same as other engine parts including the MGU-H and turbo components.

“We asked for the principle that is already agreed for 2021 to apply for 2020,” Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul explained at the Belgian Grand Prix.

“The draft regulations, which are just draft regulations for 2021, there is a concept that if you go above 21 races there is extra component allocation.

"So that’s simply what we asked on the simple basis that it’s very late to change the duty cycle of any component for next year.

“There was a bit of a discussion, as always in Formula 1, but eventually we reached a compromise in Budapest that everyone managed to stick to, for once in Formula 2, and eventually it was good to confirm the 22 races.

“We are happy to have specifically the same number of MGU-Ks as internal combustion engines,” he added.

“That’s going to make the lives of the technicians, the mechanics in the garage, an awful lot of simpler.

“Sometimes we don’t really think about these type of things but they do make a difference, in addition to the prospect of penalty.

“That was the condition that from the outset we mentioned. Otherwise we are very supportive of an extension of the calendar.”