Mercedes is open to finding ways to allow Renault and Honda to catch up with their engine development as long as it does not result in a total freeze on its own development.
Renault has had a power and reliability deficit to Mercedes since the current engine regulations were introduced in 2014, while Honda has struggled to get up to speed on its return to the grid with McLaren this year. Ferrari has closed the gap this season, but there are still concerns Mercedes' domination - no matter how well-deserved - could damage the popularity of the sport.
The last Strategy Group meeting gave a mandate to the FIA and FOM to revise the regulations surrounding engine development and find ways to control engine costs. One extreme suggestion is to halt Mercedes development and give its rivals the freedom to catch up, but team boss Toto Wolff believes that is against the very nature of F1.
"Normally if you run a team or you are an engine supplier, you need to go out there full blast and try to crush everybody," he said. "That's why we are here and that's the primary objective. But we need to have sympathy for the ones who are struggling with the new regulations.
"It is part of the DNA of F1 to try to achieve excellence in engineering and it has never happened before that one has been asked to stop or been frozen and stopped development for the others to catch up. That is not the DNA, this is a competition and we are all fighting out there to give our best. It's tiny little decisions and tiny little mistakes that might affect the future."
Under the current technical regulations controlling engine development, 8% of the power unit was frozen for good last year and manufacturers are allowed to improve performance on 48% of the power unit components over the course of this year under the token system. Next year 23% of the power unit will be off limits with manufacturers given tokens to change 38%. By 2019 95% of the power unit will be frozen and just 5% will be left to be tinkered with.
Wolff believes allowing in-season development and changing what is and is not allowed to be changed from year to year could be one way of narrowing the gap, but is wary of the need to keep an eye on costs.
"We need to somehow understand that somebody like Honda and Renault are struggling and find ways of enabling them to catch up without changing the DNA of Formula One. This is why we have always been reluctant about in-season development because it comes at a huge cost. Ferrari has found a loophole [this year], and it was clever how they did it, but this may mean we have opened a can of worms because it is expensive.
"In the last [Strategy Group] meeting we said, although that loophole has been closed and it's not going to happen next year, if Renault and Honda think they need that, then let's discuss it, whether we reintroduce it. Maybe we need to change the token system, maybe we need to change the famous white and black boxes [in the Technical Regulations appendix] that shows the areas where you are allowed to develop.
"Commercially it is not the most intelligent we can do, but if it is what the others need, or what they believe they need in order to catch up, then we will certainly consider that."