In the last 5 years or so, Diesel technology has improved a lot too! The label "dirty" for Diesel engines isn't applicable anymore; Diesels can be just as clean as petrol engines. In fact, petrol engines have greatly benefited from research on Diesel engines: injection, exhaust filters, catalysts, etc... A Diesel engine is more energy efficient than a petrol one. Fuel mileage is sometimes up to 20% higher, and Diesel is cheaper to produce than petrol, which mean that depending from fuel taxation from country to country, the saving from using a Diesel car compared to a petrol one can reach 40%. As for driving, the Diesel experience is quite good: lots of torque at low revs compared to petrol, about 50% more, I would say. So less gear changes, more flexibility. more engine breaking, etc... At look at the power; on most diesel cars, it's not far behind the petrol. Diesel engines last longer than petrol ones; the engine blocks are stronger, and many other components. Diesel fuel is a lubricant in itself: hence less injectors and injection pump failures than on petrol, no ignition problems, etc... Mercedes, BMW, AUDI, Porsche, Jaguar, Alfa-Romeo, Maserati have Diesel engine in their range, no wonder why! In most case, the majority of cars they sell in Europe are Diesels. I never understood the resistance on the North American markets. Diesels have been banned from motor racing for many years, because they are a threat to petrol engines. A Diesel car was on pole at Indianapolis once!! Diesels are better, its a no brainer !!
You mean the series that without the 107% rule might actually make it to a F1 grid? Behind the Marussias. And only LMP1 of course... It'll be interesting to see what times F1 will do this year at Spa.
Great points but I really hope the it doesn't keep loosing cylinders. May as well have a hydrogen engined f1. Probably would sound better than it does now....
I think what he's saying is that WEC/LeMans cars were doing this hybrid race car thing years ago. F1 isn't breaking any new ground here.
Yes. And it'll sound excellent. A normal engine run on hydrogen sounds slightly higher pitched than when run on petrol. Bring it on...
Maybe that could be a nice compromise in the future? F1 would still have great sounding engines and through using alternative fuels, F1 can be "green" as well.
Actually...I'm really hoping F1 will go completely hydrogen N/A 5 liter V10/12. Direct injection, 100% clean to keep the hippies happy, amazing noise for us and hydrogen technology will evolve rapidly. I say 5 liter because when I looked up cars with hydrogen/fuel engines, when run on hydrogen they lose roughly 45% of their power. Refueling will also be back. WTF FIA? Why didn't you do this in the first place?
I realize that. My response was to a previous post by the same chatter about WEC. LMP1 is cool and close to F1, particularly this year but I believe F1 still beats them. We will see once lap times of identical tracks are in the book.
All that'll come out of the back will be a ****load of noise and water vapour. The only things hurt during an F1 race are some bits of grass when a car goes off track and a couple of those giant rats they have running across in Canada...
Sounds like a winning combo to me. Those would sound amazing. Yes there is no way they are faster than a F1 car around a track.
Zero emissions. Talk about good marketing for F1. Can't get any cleaner than zero! I have hope for the future...
I don't know much about it, but surely we'll still be burning a resource? Apart from the manufacturing of the Hydrogen, all you're doing is explode water into noise and speed, and it'll come back out as water.
Are you sure about that? People all over the world watch many series where there are no Ferraris in sight! Look at IRL, GP2, WEC, the many single-seater series, and even NASCAR; they is no fan shortage as far as I can see. In F1, Ferrari is just one of the teams, not THE team. My long time favorite is McLaren in fact. I lost interest in Ferrari when the old man died; Ferrari lost its mystic when the old man died. Also, not having Ferrari in endurance for decades brought me to root for Porsche instead.
Ferrari has been massively important to F1 though - just take a look at the amount of Red in the stands of a F1 race. Red Bull, if it sticks around, and Vettel retires, with a more likeable driver taking his place, has the potential to upstage Ferrari. Ferrari, and Mclaren doing well, is good for the sport. Lots of fans that tune in if those team's are doing well.
Look at the stands at any race. Ferrari gear outnumbers all else 50-1. This is also representative of the fan base worldwide. Yes, I am sure about that.
Those Ferrari fans would just support another team if Ferrari was to stop. F1 will not collapse because the field would have no Ferrari.
Loosing Ferrari would be catastrophic as it is the only team which was there through the entire history of F1. That to me is the biggest attraction to the team. More than anything else
I wouldn't take Bernie's little favor to Ferrari as an indicator of the importance of Ferrari in F1. Bernie made concessions to Ferrari when he needed the signature on the Concorde Agreement many years ago. Looks to me that there are 2 sorts of motor racing enthusiasts (I hate the term "fan"): those who watch GPs to see Ferraris, and those who want to see a race! I am in the second category.
Im with you. I was a major Ferrari fan. Was. Not anymore. Im a major F1 fan first. Team or teams second. If Ferrari left I would still watch. No question.
