Engine makers seek PURE guarantees after Gilles Simon's FIA exit

Simon will join Craig Pollock's PURE operation next month, and his move has caused concern among engine makers who are privately unhappy that the information he has on their future plans and designs could be advantageous to his new employers.

Renault's engine chief Rob White, who is the representative of the engine makers on the Formula 1 Commission, said on Friday in Budapest that the situation of Simon moving so quickly to a competitor was not ideal.

"First reactions are fairly predictable and understandable from my part," explained White. "On a personal and professional level, we've had good relations with Gilles for a long time in his present - for a couple more days - job, and in his previous job at Ferrari.

"Of course, it's of concern to all of us that in this close relationship with Gilles and the FIA over the past year, 18 months, that we've given unprecedented access to Gilles - we certainly have at Renault and I believe all of the engine companies have done so, particularly in respect of the state of progress in our respective engine development programmes alongside the rules package.

"And so, of course, we would be most concerned to be reassured that information to which Gilles has had access to in those very privileged circumstances as a representative of the FIA is not used in his new capacity as an employee of a competitor."

White added that there was a degree of trust that needed to be given to representatives of the governing body, that could not be handed to them if there was the possibility of them working for a rival.

"It's a very complicated sport," he said. "In order that the technical and sporting regulations can be administered successfully, then we require the governing body to have good people and they probably require to have access to the teams, and therefore there's an obvious risk that needs to be managed, if the same people can crop up in a different shirt very shortly afterwards."