F1 two race per engine rule?

Back to back races I'm sure.

 

I also read that if your engine expires during a race that you may use a new engine the following race without penalty. Doesn't this encourage teams not finishing in the points in any given race to "allow" their engine to expire thus using a fresh engine in the following race? Won't some of the grid then be using an engine on its second race weekend while others would be using an engine that is on its first? I wonder if the FIA really thought this through.

 

I guess... if the engine is toasty in the first race, then they can use a new engine. This new engine must still last two races. So if I win race one and you are in tenth {and blow the head off}, you can start the next race with a new motor and I will be in the second race on a used engine. But after this race you will be using an older motor and I will be on a fresh one, so it's pretty lame to cost yourself a new motor, just because you aren't finishing well. {unless you are a top dog and the championship is close}

 

This 2 race/one engine rule, has got to be the stupidest rule the FiA has come up with.

This will just cause the smaller teams to fall further behind. Think about it, when was the last time Ferrari has had an engine failure, what the 2002 season.

 

I agree, I think this is a dumb rule. For example, what happens to an engine in between races? How will the FIA prevent teams from replacing parts on the engines from race to race? Will the FIA keep the engines in parc ferme type of quarantine in between races? Usually teams transport their own equipment from race to race. How will the FIA monitor these engines when they are in the hands of the team. I am not saying the teams will cheat, but this rule might be a lot harder to monitor than the FIA had originally thought. Any ideas on this?

 

Engines will be sealed by the FIA and if the seals are broken... you're penalized. There are many ways to seal an engine. There are multiple race categories at the club racing level that use sealed engines. This is nothing new and is very effective.

I for one like the new rules. When I was running a Formula Atlantic the engine rebuild from the top engine builder was $10,000. That's to rebuild and dyno, not to build up an engine. That cost was a bit north of $20,000. I'm guessing the F1 guy's are spending quite a bit more one their rebuilds. If you think cutting that cost in half is going to hurt the small teams you're crazy. If that FA engine budget above was cut in half (on a 16 race schedule - for arguments sake we'll say we were rebuilding every race: $160,000) that's a savings of $80,000. F1 budgets are much bigger. Their engine internals are much more expensive. The savings will be welcomed by all of the teams large and small.

 

You make a good point, but, I was looking at it from a grid position point of view. The smaller teams don't have the budget to spend on testing and getting the best/latest materials for their engines. Therefore, they are more likely to blow up. Bigger teams don't have to deal with this as much (except for McLaren last year). So how do you think this will play out next season, simple, Ferrari will run off with the championship, because they will build such a huge gap between themselves and the other teams. I just think this will cut the smaller teams competitiveness.

 

RACER magazine has an interview with Eddie Jordan and he says clearly, that he and his team were saved by the two race/engine rule: Without that rule Toyota would not have had the capacity to produce enough engines for two teams.

In a different article in another mag I read an interview with BMW's Theissen and he said, that the new rule overall does save money for the engine manufacturers. Not terribly much as they have to do even more research to find the power, but they do save on manufacturing costs.

I always thought that longevity rules wouldn't have an impact on cost as you just shift the focus of your development around, but reality shows that you do save on production costs enough to make it worthwhile. Especially if you are a small team and every nickel counts.

 

It will be interesting to see how little Hp is lost for the increased sevice life.
My bet is it's minimal. New aerodynamic restrictions will play a larger role in slower lap times.
Will McLaren rise to the challenge of developing an engine that dare I say has the potential to last TWO races ? lol
I can already hear JPM whining.

 

I wonder if they ever considered some system that rewarded teams the more they kept using the same engine? It's a thought.

 

Does the used engine have to be used again in the 2nd race in the same chassis and for the same driver? For example, if Rubens does a good job of preserving his engine during the first race and MS abuses his, can they then swap engines so Rubens gets the abused unit and MS the better of the two?

 

According to Theissen the loss in power is significant, althought that might be sand bagging. My guess is, that the engines will have a little less power, but without the rule they would have had a lot more so in essence it is about cutting costs and preventing hp increase.

 

Yea, significant being a relative term. I'm anxious to see how much HP they end up with as I am always amazed at how well they can "retain" HP after being dealt another set of cards so to speak. It's awesome. It's also probably better for the sport, at least for all the other teams besides the top three.
(4 with BAR). I just hope they don't take this 2 race engine rule any further as this is Formula 1 ! not Cart (thank Gawd)! : ) imo it's supposed to be expensive, and if the less financially healthy teams can't keep up oh well.
I for one don't want to see the day when they are all running spec engines,with only minor aerodynamic parameters to work within.
That only stifles the fantastic advancement of technology exquisitely unique
to the great motorsport we know as Formula 1.
In fact maybe Theissen himself was being generous with the term!
We can only hope. ; )
we shall soon see.

 

Yes and no. I agree on your thoughts about F1 being the pinnacle etc. OTOH I don't want to see any more teams disappear. Luckily Jaguar and Jordan have been picked up. But I'm still missing the four cars from Arrows and Prost. F1 should be 24 cars, not 20.