Mercedes chief Paddy Lowe thinks Formula One needs to start thinking about how the next set of engine regulations will look when the current cycle ends in 2020.
F1's current V6 turbo era started in 2014, but has been criticised due to Mercedes' huge dominance and a lack of noise from the engines. The current power units are set to remain until 2020 and Lowe thinks a long-term plan would avoid similar mistakes being made with the next set of rules.
When asked about engines after 2020, Lowe said: "That's a good question and it's a big question. I think it is about time we started to talk about the engine beyond this one.
"And it does raise some very big considerations: how do we define an engine or power unit that is correct for the sport but also relevant to the kind of power units that we will see in the future in road cars? Do we make remain in some way related attached to that technology which is increasingly electrical or do we go our own way? So there are some very very important questions there."
Lowe thinks the sound of the engines needs to be a key consideration post-2020 -- especially if F1 wants to remain relevant to road cars.
"That debate started really with the issue of the sound of these engines when they arrived in 2014. It's better now than it was back then but it doesn't match the sound of the old V8s or the V10s but it still raises an interesting debate.
"I think road cars of the future, at some point not that far off, will be completely silent if they are all electrical so will we want noise, will we associate noise with performance or not? There are some very interesting debates there and I think we need to start that process."
Ferrari's Jock Clear agreed with Lowe, saying it is important to give teams plenty of time to understand what the regulations will look like.
"It needs to be thought about. I think what we have learned from this cycle and this era of hybrid engines is that the power units now are very, very complicated and it needs a lot of planning and I think we'll go into those next negotiations with eyes wide open this time.
"I don't think there's anybody who didn't fall into the category of underestimating what might have been involved, and as such, [so] the sooner we start, the sooner we'll be aware and the sooner we can come to a solution that will be the best for the sport."