"One engine rule" - farcical?

[Glen]

I think this rule places an even greater premium on building cars that are straightforward and quick to set up - a trend started with the Parc Fermé rules, which meant no specially built qualifying cars, no moving ballast around before the race, no totally different set up for the race vs qualifying. The teams will test less for sure, but the good teams with a solid chassis will get a set up quicker.

[Schummy]

Originally posted by Gt_R
What is to stop teams like Jordan or Minardi using old format engines? They know they'd qualify last anyways, dropping 10 places would have no impact on their qualifying slot, and they can just use the old engines (lighter with a bit more power - in theory at least) to gain some better results during the race...

Oh, I had not thought about it. Even if they put Minardi 100m behind the grid they still would not have to overtake anybody. I admit I don't know if rules cover this case, but anyway it would be a little(?) help for small (bad?) teams.

[DaveOrama]

In trying to reduce the costs, the engines are a major source of spending for the smaller teams. I believe it was the good Dr Thiessen, who said costs of engines will not go down too much, apart from using less engines - the R&D to build new engines that are just as powerful yet last the distance will keep costs up.

As for putting in an engine of last year, it may be possible, but the new cars are built and designed around the newer heavier engines. Putting in a lighter engine upsets car balance which would take a session or two to compensate for. I'm not naive enough to think that the teams aren't preparing for this possibility though.

I liked an earlier comment about racing on one set of tyres for the weekend - real world application. To this end....
What going back to steel disc brakes?
Raising ride heights?

I just love old footage of seeing cars in powerslides and four wheel drifts and the driver balancing the throttle.... Skill.

[mirwin]

The teams will test less for sure, but the good teams with a solid chassis will get a set up quicker.

I think the teams will test more. A 400km test run is no longer enough for a new engine. Teams will have to do twice as much testing to see if an engine will last the race weekend.