Two way data - benefits?

[Glen]

Just musing over the concept of legally transmitting data to the cars next year - and there are at least a few positive benefits which all F1 fans might enjoy...

For one; we may well see a reduction in the number of occassions that a car just shuts itself down or refuses to run because of a snag with the engine management - in some of these scenarios it will presumably be possible for the team to send re-set or modified data to the car to get it running again. This capability may well have transformed the Monaco race for example, allowing DC to get off the line!

Also; (and I'm on even thinner technical ice here than in the first example!) it strikes me that at least some of the on-board computing power might be removed from the car completely - provided teams feel that the data connection is quick and reliable enough. Having all of the reserve data (alternative engine maps & fuel mixtures, different TC settings, etc) safe and sound on the big PCs in the pit could have some benefits in the way of increased reliability, since the car's a far more hostile environment for a computer.

Not sure how they'll ever feel completely confident about hacking though - in a game as cutthroat as F1, turning someone else's engine down or off must at least be considered.