Report: Red Bull eyeing shock Ferrari switch for 2016 F1 season | FOX Sports
I can't see DM wanting to stay around with a B grade customer engine. IMO, RBR will follow Renault out of F1.
Ouch indeed!...... There's good reason's he's generally known as "Crazy Helmut"! And this coming just after Christian H & Cyril A both saying "we've got to stop pissing on each other and get our heads down to improve!" Nice job Crazy Helmut!.... "Thanks for the 4 WCC's, have a nice day, now **** off!" I think he's even wrong with the "B-spec" comment - I'm pretty sure they can only run one spec of PU at any one time - If the works team runs the new unit, they must make it available to their customers at the same time. [Not to say they don't put them on Florians test bed & pick the "best" out first, but the (nominal?) specs must be the same......] Cheers, Ian
Maybe contracts of the "you get the same engines, just the batch that fell through final inspection" kind are allowed
They don't have to provide the team with the ability to alter software control over various parts of the PU. This was RD's largest gripe of their last year with Mercedes engines. Huge disadvantage.
Where does a Ferrari "B-spec" PU land a team on the grid? High top 10? How much of this season is to blame on Renault?
Yep! From Sniff's 2014 season preview; Cheers, Ian PS - For anyone who hasn't seen them, their season previews really are worth a read; 2014; 2014 FORMULA 1 GUIDE « Sniff Petrol 2015; 2015 Formula 1 guide « Sniff Petrol
Maybe dieter needs to push Mercedes into supplying them, I can't see Ferrari wanting to hand back the initiative to red bull by sorting the engine woes that have dropped them behind us perceptively on the grid. If Mercedes do, we don't have a choice, but if we ourselves give them engines and they start beating us, how could we live with the decision. I don't see any new manufacturers wanting to come in having seen Honda fail so miserably, especially VW in any form, or BMW, getting thrashed by your main road car competitor while blowing up and breaking down would lower your stock real quick
Given that the engines are basically to spec, why not just have a single engine supplier? There is no competitive advantage in engine freedom, only the pain of failure - just ask Honda and Renault.
Mercedes has same issue at Ferrari... Why hand them a quick engine? That said, red bull have lost a few good people to tip teams, engine aren't their only worries. Their junior team with same engine regularly beats them with rookie drivers...
I don't think so... Ferrari had their new spec engine at Montreal, but Sauber was running the old spec (not enough engines to supply or Sauber couldn't afford it until next payday depending on which rumor you believe...the implication was that it was Sauber's choice not to run them, though). Mercedes had a new spec that everyone but Force India used (that was reported to be due to Mercedes not being able to make enough of them).
Yep, I think you're correct here - My bad. Monisha is saying it's nothing to do with budget though - Although, I guess she would..... Not sure about any inability to supply customers if they want them though - Concur that Sauber *could* have run it, don't know about FI. I thought I recalled something in the regs saying each manufacturer can only have one PU homologated at a time - I guess older units are still OK and it's to eliminate any chance of them going down multiple (mega buck, as we know!) design paths at the same time. Cheers, Ian
I think the key is that none of the PUs are homologated. My understanding is that (this year) they can spend tokens as desired until they run out...then, the PU must be homologated by the end of the year. That's the accidental omission of the Feb. 28 deadline.
Hmmm..... I could be wrong, but I don't think that's quite true either - They still need to be homologated, but they're then free to spend their tokens as & when they wish to this year. You're correct in that next season they need to be done ahead of Australia (or Feb 28th as you say) and then they're stuck like that until the following year. Which really sucks..... Cheers, Ian