The FIA’s attempts to reduce the costs of F1 racing has drawn mixed responses: Bernie Ecclestone suggests racing three cars per team, while BMW’s Mario Theissen says the current V10 engines should remain.
The FIA’s attempts to reduce the costs of F1 racing has drawn mixed responses: Bernie Ecclestone suggests racing three cars per team, while BMW’s Mario Theissen says the current V10 engines should remain.
F1’s raging battle about attempts to reduce speed and costs in F1 has been revisited, with Max Mosely proposing that 2,4-litre V8s being employed instead.
But BMW Motorsport director Theissen said he believed the current 3,0-litre V10 format to be the most effective and cost efficient when compared to designing a new engine.
“We prefer to keep the 3.0 litre V10 format in connection with an increased engine mileage and restrictions in materials and design that have already been agreed upon by all manufacturers,” Theissen said.
“This package would lead to a clear reduction in costs, and the engine and chassis manufacturers would not be forced to design all-new concepts. The engine performance would also be reduced.”
With Ford last week announcing its withdrawal from F1 at the end of this season, there is a strong possibility that it may struggle to find a buyer for its Jaguar racing and Cosworth engineering divisions. Both the Minardi and Jordan teams have been placed in jeopardy, since their engines are sourced from Cosworth.
The chances are now great that 10 teams with 20 cars will not be able to race next year. Eccelstone has since suggested that the remaining teams race three cars each instead which may simply be too much for certain teams to achieve. Ecclestone has suggested the alternative that manufacturers provide the privateer teams with engines at a “reasonable” cost.
However, he believes the three-car option to be the most plausible. “At least if the other teams provide an extra car each, we will have 20 competitive cars on the grid, unlike now,” he said.
“We have to be prepared for the fact that two more teams might not be around next year and that is what I am doing now. I do not see why I should have to pay for two small teams to go racing. That is not my job.”
