Not really, the aero rules are changing but not the engines that much. They’ll be mildly simplified, but still are hy-kers turbo V6s. Basically dead in the water, to translate.
I....don't see how this is bad? The PUs aren't the end-all-be-all like they were during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. If they were, Williams would be a lot higher than they are currently, and McLaren wouldn't be stating that they're expecting to lose a little pace next year. With the obvious exception of Ferrari, I'd say that all of the PUs are currently pretty equal, and overall car design, especially aero, has been the biggest factor both this year and in the last couple years.
If the current PU gap stays consistent (or gets even smaller), then the 2022 aero regs will matter a lot more, since teams won't really be able to rely as much on their PUs to fix the deficit in their aero performance (yes, I realize this has the potential to backfire as well). Now, I don't realistically expect Mercedes to build a poor car with the new regs, but since everyone is drawing from a blank canvas, it means that there's greater potential for one of the other teams to close the overall gap. The caps on both the overall budget and wind tunnel time have the potential to help the smaller teams as well.
The bulk of the engine development costs goes to the hybrid systems which is why they’re so expensive, which is why no new engine supplier wants to join even for 2022. They screwed the pooch by trying to appease the big OEMs like Mercedes and Renault. It’s the exact same mistake they’ve been making since the 90s. “Let’s push all the garagistas out and pander to OEMs. Wait, why have all the non-works teams left and the costs skyrocketed? We need to pander to the OEMs to make sure they don’t leave as well!”
I do agree that the engines are prohibitively expensive for pretty much no reason, but I also don't want to see engine manufacturers enter the sport and have no pace, either. When Honda first entered, it was an absolutely miserable affair, and it took 3 years and a complete change in team before they started looking even remotely competitive (I also remember hearing that Honda wasn't keen in hearing feedback from McLaren at the time, either). The last "garagista" we had was Cosworth, and they were absolutely miserable for their entire time as an engine supplier, and that was no fun to watch, either.
Now, I do think that the FIA can (and should) do more in the future to help entice potential new engine suppliers, as well as do more to help them be competitive faster. But, I also kinda get why they "pander" to the OEMs, because the OEMs for the most part have the resources to build PUs that are competitive, and have overall less risk of hurting the on-track product.
There were originally plans to completely overhaul the engine regs, but Mercedes [and to an extent Renault] campaigned hard for them to stay as similar as possible to the current ones.
Pretty much every team on the grid has been guilty of arguing against proposals that potentially go against their interests, with Ferrari being the most well-known actor. IIRC, when the Hybrid Formula was first being developed, the FIA was pretty keen on adopting a 4-Banger engine formula, but Ferrari threatened to pull out if they did, hence the current V6 regulations. I don't see how this specifically makes Mercedes the bad guys, or takes the blame off the other teams for not matching up, especially since everyone else has had the same PU rulebook for 6 years now.
