A loophole in the 2015 technical regulations means that teams will be allowed to update their engines during the season.

The loophole only exists because the regulations do not mention when the final engine for 2015 must be homologated as it stated in the 2014 regulations. An FIA spokesperson has said that the FIA was always under the impression that the teams will have homologated their engines before the first race of the season. The FIA have however conceded that the regulations do not stipulate a due date and that teams will be allowed to bring updates to their engines during the season.

Going forward for the 2015 season teams will be allowed 32 development tokens which means that teams will be allowed to bring 32 updates to the engine, but will be limited to 4 engines per car for the season instead of 5. These updates, according to Charlie Whiting in a note sent to the teams, can be carried out at any point during the season.

This is good news for Ferrari, Renault and to some extent Mercedes, who fought hard to prevent the engine updates during the season. Honda on the other hand do not have the benefit of developing their engine during the 2015 season as they are a new manufacturer.

The current regulations do not specifically state when Honda must submit their homologated power unit. The FIA, however, are standing firm by its view that the Japanese manufacturer must submit their homologated power unit by 28 February 2015 as the existing manufacturers were obliged to submit their power units by the same time last year.

McLaren and Honda are not taking this lightly and will meet with the FIA to discuss the situation. Honda feel that the changes that will be brought by teams during the season wont make much of a difference. But we all know that in F1 any small change can make the world of difference.