Formula 1 sporting manager Ross Brawn believes that the sport's future engine platform should retain elements of hybrid technology, but possibly as a tactical asset.
Brawn is hard at work with consultations and analysis to define the future direction and the specifics of F1's power unit beyond 2020.
While elements of hybrid technology will be retained, Brawn won't settle for a platform which represents a 'soft middle ground' between the demands from manufacturers and what the fan community is expecting.
"We're in debate with the engine manufacturers and car manufacturers and some of the engineering companies like Cosworth and Ilmor - people that are pure racing engine manufacturers - so there is a big discussion going on," Brawn said at F1's London Live event on Wednesday.
"It's not a question really of finding a sort of soft middle ground where you don't offend anyone because I don't think that will be the best solution.
"But hybrid technology is probably going to be retained because it offers some relevance, it offers the engagement of manufacturers, but can we turn it around a little bit and make it a tactical quality?
"So in a race you've got much more capacity to use the battery power and the hybrid nature of the cars to try and get an advantage."
Fans want louder engines, and so does F1's sporting manager, but while Brawn is obviously attentive to the fan community's desires, bringing back non-aspirated high-revving engines isn't the plan.
Is a 'non-aspirated' engine the same as a 'naturally-aspirated' engine?
I was hoping to see more in the article abut the 'tactical' use of hybrid technology. For example, at first I wasn't a fan of Indy Car's 'Push to Pass' feature, but I do see how using it becomes a strategy towards the end of the race.
It might be interesting to see DRS activation in F1 be at the driver's control, limited to 10 or 20 uses depending on the track, and see how that plays out as a strategy.