Force India to drop Ferrari engines?

Force India may be considering a change of customer engine supplier for the 2009 season, according to reports.

The Silverstone-based team, having changed ownership prior to the start of this season, is currently powered by Ferrari's 2.4 litre V8s.

But according to the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell, meetings may already have taken place - in the Montreal paddock earlier this month - between Force India and Honda chiefs.

Force India is contractually bound to the Ferrari deal, but it is suggested that the Vijay Mallya-owned squad is interested in Honda's offer of engines plus its KERS system at a lower price.


Rumours have abounded since the collapse of the Honda satellite Super Aguri this year that Honda is still keen to expand its F1 presence beyond the Brackley based works team.

Motorsport Aktuell claims that Honda is offering its engine-KERS package to Force India for a price 10 million Euros per season lower than the Ferrari deal, as long as Takuma Sato is accommodated for a race seat.

Force India has reportedly not yet taken a decision.

 

I don't really care what engines they use, although I would have thought Ferrari power would be better than Honda, but I really hope they don't drop Adrian Sutil. Force India are my 2nd team and I really hope they start to make some progress.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure why anyone uses a Ferrari customer engine. If there's been one constant throughout the years of Ferrari racing, it's that customer engines will -always- be built to a lower standard than the factory equipment.

 

I agree. A customer engine will always be a few steps behind the 'real thing' in terms of development. However manufacturing your own engine from scratch would be hugely expensive compared to buying a customer engine. I think that if your team is using a customer engine you are telling the world that it is your intention to survive in F1. If you make your own engine then you are telling the world you intend to win.
Of course it wasn't that long ago that Ferrari were very much the exception as they built their own engine and chassis. Nowadays it seems that you cannot buy a chassis from another company and if you buy an engine you don't stand much chance of winning.

 

Since there is currently an engine development freeze in F1 that shouldn't be the case currently.

Jonathan

 

Even with an engine freeze do you honestly think Ferrari ships off an exact replica to spec with the engines that they have in their cars?

 

That's amazing, Takuma Sato must be a really great/lovable guy, no other F1 driver on the grid is given so much support, with so few results.

 

I think it's is more a Japanese driver thing than a lovable guy thing. There is also a GP2 driver that might turn out to be a good enough driver to represent. Koybaiashi. (sp?)

I bet the India fans would be mad that there is a Japanese driver, and not an Indian one, like Karthikeyan or Chandhock(sp?).

 

The obsession the Japanese public seems to have for Sato maybe behind this move.

Since Sato has been dropped from the Honda F1 team, there has been a campaign in Japan of patriotic fervour, to assure him a berth in F1, culminationg in the creation of the Super Aguri team, largely bankrolled by Honda.

Now that Super Aguri is out of the picture, and Sato without a drive, the same lobby could be manoeuvering to get him a seat at Force India, with a Honda engine of course.

I can't see Sato deserving all this attention myself ; he never proved himself to be an outstanding talent in F1, and is prone to brain fade quite often.

Also, it would ironical that Force India, placated by some at home for not promoting an Indian driver, would rescue the career of a Japanese one!!

 

i wasn't a fan to begin with a honda's f1 program is absolutely horrific. They're quite possibly the worst team in F1 IMO especially when you factor in their budget. Once I read the Sato thing I was absolutely against it. Force India's current drivers are just fine with me Sato has had so many chances in F1 and hasn't made much of them.

 

Very good point. If anything I'd expect Karthikeyan to get another chance as he seems much more marketable than Sato.

 

i would definitely take Sato over a bunch of current F1 drivers.

 

Meh it won't move them up the grid regardless of what engine they use. They just want to get back at Ferrari because of what happened in Monaco.

 

You get what you pay for.

And they should be nervous about the Sato thing. He's quite likely to take out both of their cars at the same time.