Max's letter to the constructors

[Inigo Montoya]

FYI - Max has written a letter to the constructors explaining the rationale behind the changes.

http://www.fia.com/homepage/selection-a.html

Its the top story.
Here is an excerpt:

The six-race engine
Of course, the first reaction of some Formula One fans to the idea of a six-race engine will be negative. An enthusiast may even claim it’s not Formula One. But we can expect well over 700 horsepower and about 16,000 rpm from our six-race engine in 2006, about the same as the best Formula One engines as recently as 1996. (Remember that when Formula One went from 3.5 to 3.0 litres for safety reasons after the 1994 fatalities, we were told by the engine specialists this would mean a maximum of 600 horsepower, a figure which everyone at that time thought was about right.) Despite a reduction in engine costs of more than 90%, no-one in the grandstands or watching on television will notice the slightest difference. In fact the only real problem with the six-race engine is finding a well-balanced scale of penalties for premature engine change which is enough to deter systematic changes without putting the driver concerned out of contention in the Championship.



Analysis, my friends?

[chrisrb2002]

I seem to recall that the 1000km engine rule (which was later recinded) was what led to the official withdrawal of Renault in 1997 as after doing reliability and other research the rug was pulled out from under them... what is going to happen this time I wonder.

[SALEEN S7R]

Im all for cost cutting but dont like the 1 engine rule.

[woodbine]

I have to agree. 6 races is too long and will bring about the start of the manufacturers exodus. One engine per weekend is the right level.

Also if they brought in the 6 race rule, what happens with testing?

[GTV27]

Originally posted by woodbine
I have to agree. 6 races is too long and will bring about the start of the manufacturers exodus. One engine per weekend is the right level.

Also if they brought in the 6 race rule, what happens with testing?

Some manufacturers may leave (but what does that say about them?), however not all would - engines would still be available, even if they come from independents.

Six races does seem like a long time (3 engines per year?), but it could be an ambit claim to be negotiated back to something more reasonable (eg with one per weekend being the minimum level of potential restriction).

Who knows what might apply re testing by 2006, but I'd presume that it would not apply to testing, only to official practice, qualifying and the race (?)

[Red]

Originally posted by DJ Max
the proper price for a season’s engines for an independent team in 2003 is about $20 million, it should be less than $10 million in 2004[...]in 2006 the cost can be expected to drop to about $1.6 million because the engine will last six weekends.

igh: And I thought that Mr Max is a capitalist. The engines might cost 1.6 million, but it will cost Jaguar 1.6. Jordan will most probably spend more like $20 million or whatever their market value is...

But I do agree with him on this one:

Originally posted by DJ Max
An enthusiast may even claim it’s not Formula One.

You darn right on this one Maxie!

[Red]

Originally posted by DJ Max
where teams with enough money simply buy expensive exotic materials from specialist aerospace laboratories.

:confused: Right. And Max' point is ..... what exactly? They will have the same 'enough money' and they will try to achieve similar performances like they were used to will, not simply, but complicately spend those money in different research directions... :confused:

Originally posted by DJ Max
Independent teams will no longer be forced to use last year’s engines. For the first three years there would be no such thing – you cannot use last year’s engine in 2004 because a 2003 engine would not have been designed to last the weekend. The same principle applies in 2005 and 2006. From 2006, the number of engines needed for a season’s racing and testing would be so small it would require almost no effort by a major team or manufacturer to supply an independent team with up-to-date engines. Similar arguments apply to chassis and drive-train parts.

This is pure art! Magnificent! "Independent teams will no longer be forced to use last year's engines" (Actually they're not forced to do that, not even by today's regulations...) I believe that it took him a long time to put all those words together in a single idea. Not enough I believe, how exactly will be the constructor's be forced to sell the same spec engines as they use still remains a mistery. Even though the manufacturers will be forced to supply a second team with engines, what's to stop them to simply modify an old engine to last a couple more races, and if it doesn't last 6 races it's Jordan's problem anyway...

[Jukebox]

Who is D J Max? and you quoted who's reply Red :confused:

[Red]

Ooops, sorry. That's DJ Max

[Red]

:confused: D'uh, it's not online anymore ... anyway, it was a cartoon starring "DJ Gangsta Max M"... it was funny ..

The stuff I've quoted are excerpts from the above mentioned letter from Max to manufacturers...

[Jukebox]

opss..didnt read the attached link. Dumb question

Back to the topic...

I'm against restrictions cause it'll only hamper innovations