Kimi's engine to be inspected...

It would be nice if they determine that the engine is fine, but if there's any chance it's gonna blow I'd say just taken the penalty, I have faith in Kimi that he can get the car into the points from 10-12 on the starting grid, and with the way the circuit is designed, the engine definitely needs to be cooled efficiently.

PS: wouldn't it be nice if they just ditched the two race engine rule all together and instead give the ten place penalty if the engine has to be changed between qualifying and the race.

 

Its supposed to be a cost cutting measure for the engines right? Most teams end up bringing just as many engines to races now because of it. At Australia, SpeedTV said that Renault brought 8 engines to each weekend, how is that cost saving?

 

No sweat !
If anyone can nurse it home its Kimi....cough..cough.

 

Kimi is just great at preserving all his cars .

 

Ferrari needs to make sure the cars are reliable or else they will get the individual wins but not the eventual championship. Alonso can pick up second places and still win the WDC.

 

I think if there is even a question ... err on the side of caution and change the engine. Kimi's driving plus some pit strategy could get him a top five finish. Points, points, points ... better to finish in the points than not at all!

 

Massa's big chance?

 

With Kimi's engine in trouble, and Hamilton under orders to slow and move over (again), Alonso may win his first race of the year...

 

If it were up to me, if there is any doubt as to the engine's reliability, I would change it and let Kimi start from pit lane. I have enough faith in him to be able to match Felipe's performance of coming up to 6th, and hopefully even better.

Points. Manufacturer's points. That is all that matters. WDC? Matters only to the driver.

 

even taking a grid penalty(say, starting 13/14), Kimi should still be fighting for the podium...that would be the wise move if there's any doubt at all...get the most points possible..it's early, but remember last year...Shu having early reliability probs cost him in the end (as did that freak break at the end)...but it's all speculation until we find out for sure.. and, hey, the WDC matters quite a bit to the manufacture...the limelight/fame that the driver brings to the team is lots more 'visible' than a WCC...

 

i'm really starting to hate this 2 engine race thing. like someone pointed out, they replace and engine when the old one is faulty...plus, they spend tonnes of $$$ on making the engine reliable, how is that supposed to save costs?


on the fan side, we are robbed of proper, all out genuine racing..without that silly rule, each time will make full use of the engines during raceday and give us proper race t/out the race.

instead, now, they prefer to cruise the last 10-20 laps to 'save the engine'. what kinda **** race is that?

 

Mr. Simon's psychological warfare?

 

I hope so.

Carol

 

we never know!

 

Realistically how much does an engine cost 10k, 20k? Thats chump change to these teams. 10k x 17 races= a measly 200k when the budgets are in the tens and hundreds of millions.

 

Honestly I liked it when they had qualifying spec motors that would only hold together for 10-12 laps before grenading. Point of qualifying is to go as fast as possible, this is F1 not autox. If you want to change motors 3 times a weekend I say go for it. Cost should be of no object considering its the world leading motor sport.

 

I'd put money on Massa and Kubica before Alonso...even 'Quick Nick' could play a part.

 

20K per engine? not quite... teams that have to buy engines(STR, RBR, etc) from the likes of Ferrari, Cosworth(when they were still around), Renault...etc, spend over $20million per season on engines alone...

 

sure,its early enough to "roll the dice" with the same motor and see what happens but the smart move is points,pointspoints!

 

Let me go out on a limb here, Kimi will get fastest lap and win, perhaps not on pole, but he will win. Lets get this straight once and for all, Massa is his Number 2 driver with a CAPITAL 2.

 

This is going to be a gamble.

I say engine change...high temps and long straights not good.

He'll still get points, maybe a podium.

The F1 season is a marathon, not a sprint.

Keep getting those points;DNFs would be a disaster as Kimi already knows all to well...

 

what can they do to the engine between races? can they rebuild it?

how much of it can they replace before it's considered "new"?

 

they can 'service' the engine...the car...new gearbox, cooling system, etc. but can't touch major internals...so, no, absolutely cannot 'rebuild'. the FIA puts 'seals' on major moving parts so the teams can't tamper/touch. as you'd already know, if teams put in a fresh engine, or any of the seals of previous engine are broken (that's considered putting in a 'new' engine) it = 10 grid penalty...