Looks like we're in for another crazy season!

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/080319085743.shtml

ECU to blame for engine failures? Looks like the analysis at Maranello ruled out problems with the engine per say. Here we go...

 

Hmmm - If this is really the case I have a bad feeling......

However, as far as we know it was only Ferrari that "experienced" these difficulties (in Melbourne) - Surely somebody else would have had the same problems? [It is an *identical* unit across all cars after all.]

Not good.

Cheers,
Ian

 

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

 

To eliminate any suspicion at all the ECU HAS to be scrapped right now !
If they have to race on carbs till a new one gets built so be it.

 

...this is a FIA brand mistake that will hunt every team all year long...I wouldnt be surprised if you can send a text message from Ron CelPhone, with a secret code and then engines will start missfiring due to...nothing.

this is going to be REALLY good, trying to proove ECU´s are faulty or that they just misbehave with no particular reason...

I Wouldnt be surprised if this gremlin is just another McLaren secret feature...

 

Its kind of ****ed up, not one single Ferrari engine finished last weekend's race.

Force India Ferrari - Both out
Torro Rosso Ferrari - Both out
Ferrari - Both out

 

Hamilton's car looked very stable compared to everyone else's slipping and sliding. Coincidence?

 

I knew it. Bastages
That's why every Ferrari engined car spun or blew up while fighting a Mclaren.

 

No wonder Hekki had to Reboot on the straightaway as soon as he passed Alonso and then he got repassed. The teams are to blame for allowing this standard ECU from McLaren/Microsoft in the first place. Banish Mosley before it is too late.

 

It really is like letting the fox in the hen house. Maybe the result of a covert deal struck last season to placate MB?

 

Just in case readers miss the humor, Hekki hit the pit lane speed limiter, not the ECU reboot.

 

I'm not going to jump on the conspiracy band wagon of McLaren sabotaging just Ferrari engines, but I still think giving the contract for this ECU to any one team was one of the stupidest ideas ever. They're just asking for accusations and trouble no matter if it was McLaren, Ferrari, or Force India for all I care.

 

+1 it's sound's like sour grapes anyway..

It is a joint venture between Microsoft and McLaren.

The company, which operates from the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, operates independently from the McLaren F1 team. It has been developing, manufacturing and deploying advanced electronic control and data systems for more than 15 years, also working within F1 with several teams.

That said there should not have been any Mc connection after last years fiasco, but hell Microsoft doing it alone No cars would have finished..

Blame dick piece Max..

 

Conversely, one could posit that since other teams didn't have the problem, Ferrari's decline has begun. You guys watch too much daytime drama TV..............

 

It's possible.

Schumi and Brawn one season then Todt the next. We were gifted the Constructors title last year we could be heading into a slump.

 

Ok guys, other unofficial news, here is the link but it's french, if some of you can read it :

http://fr.f1-live.com/f1/fr/infos/actualites/detail/080319191031.shtml

it's on F1-live, so the news will be soon available in english i think.

so it says more or less:

.Kimi : Engine failure due to a part around the engine that broke.

.Massa: (please wait for an official information before destroying him) the engine would have stoped because he downshifted instead of upshifting

sorry for the poor english; and remember it's not official
but it's interesting because the ECU wouldn't be the problem anymore

 

Thanks...

 

Hope this translation is something like..

The German Michael Schumacher, seven times world champion Formula 1, acted Wednesday to a special web that the reason for scrapping the Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen at the Australian Grand Prix had been identified and resolved.

"We understood what happened. It is a piece of anything. This is not an engine problem as such, but something occurring in the environment engine, "explained, the site German Auto, Motor und Sport online, Schumacher, who is employed as adviser in the Italian team since he ended his career in late 2006.

"The problem was not apparent when tested, but it has nothing to do with the engine's reliability," said "Schumi".


Räikkönen, world champion title, had left the race five laps from the finish, but taking advantage of the many dropouts, he had harvested the point of the eighth place.

His teammate, Brazilian Felipe Massa, had abandoned him from the 30th round, also because of an engine problem.

"The drop is partly the fault of Felipe. It triggered a bad speed for a reason that does not yet, he demoted when he wanted to accelerate," said Schumacher.

 

...not excusing MAssa, but the paddle controler assumed he was downshifting with the right hand?...even if he did...it created a conflict and shutted down the engine?...I dont buy it.

...they´ll never say the real failure...damn I hate to NOT KNOW the real nature of the failure.

 

My understanding is that the distribution of the actual ECUs is random so there is no way a particular team could be intentionally given faulty units (Matchett said something about this during his RPM segment). I don't buy into the conspiracy thing. It was just an unfortunate 1st race glitch. The speed is there for Ferrari. I bet Kimi comes on strong starting this weekend.

As for Hamilton's car looking very stable compared to the others, I bet it has more to do with the ECU in his head than the one in the car. He's just damn good.

 

Hey Steve - thanks for the clarification on this - I guess most folks automatically ASSume that McLaren is the two cars on the grid.

Carol

 

Glad to oblige Carol....

 

Actually you missed the quote. Matchett asked if they were distributed at random like CART used to with the "pop" off valves and the engineer said no they were given the ECU and then able to develop the maps/shifting themselves. The only way an ECU could cause an engine failure would be it going to too lean a mixture or having some sort of board failure that causes the ECU to fail or cause a part of the ECU to fail and with it what ever it controls (engine hydraulics, shifting, etc...). Don't forget that the ECU needs to be properly cooled, which was also a point during the Matchett segment. They said the ECU operated in 100 deg centigrade environment (212 deg F). It could be that the Ferrari ECU got too hot and one of the components malfunctioned. That wouldn't be the ECU manufacturers fault, that would be Ferraris for installing it where it [g]got[/i] too hot.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I should probably wait till the commercials to stick my head in the refridgerator next time

 

How many engine failures has Ferrari had in the last 5 years? 2 or 3. What are the odds that 2 happen on the same weekend? I'm very suspicious.