FIA bans F1 Engine Development for 10 Years

[Kitdy]

Well this is unexpected. From Jalopnik:

FIA has just announced a 10-year ban on engine development in Formula One. Teams will have to submit an engine to FIA by March 31, 2008, which they will then have to use through 2017. Speaking about the decision, FIA President Max Mosley said, "There is no need to develop an F1 engine any further. The engine runs at 19,000 rpm, which is far faster than any comparable engine. It sounds good, it's reliable and amazingly the six partially frozen engines of the current manufacturers are really evenly matched."

I don't know what to think. This will save teams tons of engine development money but they may just use that money in other places. Mind you, just a few days ago the FIA also announced that the use of air tunnels would be limited in 2008. F1 is slowly being transformed into a more level playing field - against the wills of the larger teams and to the benefit of smaller teams.

[Cotterik]

So if there is a fault in the engine which they dont spot now. It'll ruin their chances for 10 years. That sounds great..

F1 has always been about the pinnacle of motorsport. If we stop motorsport from evolving then we'll stop the natural evolution of F1 cars that has taken place for an entire century. This seems a little too strong a rule for me. They need to choose a rule then stick with it. Stop messing with the regulations year in year out. Last year was a good indication that they got it right. Leave it alone! Thats what I say..

[jediali]

Last year was a fine development for engine regulation change but I expected more dynamic and contextual changes (ie fuel consumption and road related developments).

I can only imagine this decision is intended to remove focus from manufacturers and purely onto drivers.

[Kitdy]

I can only imagine this decision is intended to remove focus from manufacturers and purely onto drivers.

I think it is another one of the FIA's attempts at curbing spending in the sport.

[Ferrer]

Very interesting.

[The_Canuck]

Interesting, but it goes against what motor racing is about doesn't it?

[whiteballz]

I wonder how the areo dynamics will change now that this is limited. I imagine all that development money will go into everything else now.. but I could be wrong.

[fpv_gtho]

So if there is a fault in the engine which they dont spot now. It'll ruin their chances for 10 years. That sounds great..

No, they'll still be able to fix it if they can prove its for reliability purposes. The engine freeze has always allowed that.

I wonder how the areo dynamics will change now that this is limited. I imagine all that development money will go into everything else now.. but I could be wrong.

Well the development by all rights will just slow down. The teams will have less area to focus by 2009 when the new aero regs come in. By then there'll also be the kinetic energy recovery systems, and if the manufacturer teams all decide to develop their own systems then i guess that'll be where the money is diverted. They'll probably also put more effort back into the chassis (not that its been lacking since the engine freeze when aero became the most important aspect) but we'll probably see more manufacturers updating their suspension systems radically through the year, which sometimes can mean major updates to the monocoque.

[blackcat77]

If Ferrari hadn't won last year, they never would have done it. Anything to further entrench Ferrari dominance.

[Brix]

it is so sad!, F1 has always been pushing the technology forward, stopping this, and the development on road cars engines will also slow down (maybe not much but it will)

[fpv_gtho]

If Ferrari hadn't won last year, they never would have done it. Anything to further entrench Ferrari dominance.

The engine freeze has been around alot longer in some form than Ferrari's 2007 titles

[Wouter Melissen]

it is so sad!, F1 has always been pushing the technology forward, stopping this, and the development on road cars engines will also slow down (maybe not much but it will)

There is only a small relationship anyways between these F1 engines and road engines.

[faksta]

It could be even interesting - many private teams could enter the championship with far less expenses.

[Cotterik]

It could be even interesting - many private teams could enter the championship with far less expenses.

yay. more minardi's! that's just what we need

But in seriousness it would be nice to see more private teams. But keep hold of the big teams too.

[Ferrer]

It could be even interesting - many private teams could enter the championship with far less expenses.

Except that they haven't allowed customer teams like Prodrive.