A quick thought on the engine freeze...

[scotty]

I was talking to someone about this the other day.

What's to stop a new manufacturer entering with their own, new engine that develops say 60hp more than all the others?

Or even if someone like Audi for example decide to enter in a partnership with Williams or Red Bull and make engines for them?

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[Kiwi_Chris]

Nothing, the engine freeze is based on a manufactures first engine that they run in a grandprix after that they cant develop it any more.
IF another engine supplier came into F1 there would be nothing stopping them from developing a more powerful engine berfore they entered.

[McLaren Fan]

A nice wee loophole. It's good to see the FIA have fully thought through their rules and regulations.

[bud]

designing an F1 engine isnt an easy thing and to just jump right in and have the reliability and power straight away would be pretty difficult so IF a manufacturer could jump in straight away and produce the goods then good luck to them!

[scotty]

Okay, so what if Ferrari, for example, developed a new engine and just rebadged it as a Fiat? That would technically be a new manufacturer... how stupid!

[bud]

Okay, so what if Ferrari, for example, developed a new engine and just rebadged it as a Fiat? That would technically be a new manufacturer... how stupid!

I dont think that would work, it would depend on where its manufactured and who designed it.

[texasmr2]

Once MM is gone can the 'engine freeze' rule be overturned? I doubt it will ever happen but I would love to see a mix of 4-6-8-10 and 12 cylinder engine's again and with sc's or turbo's. Yah I know I live in a fantasy world but it's fun!!

[przemo]

designing an F1 engine isnt an easy thing and to just jump right in and have the reliability and power straight away would be pretty difficult so IF a manufacturer could jump in straight away and produce the goods then good luck to them!

So, unless the new manufacturer makes a good engine right from the start, they're basically screwed, because they can't develop their engine once their enter the competition? How about developing it at least up to the point where they are competitive with the other engines?

[McLaren Fan]

There's nothing to say that you could not develop a Formula One car without entering the championship. You could test the car and the engine on various test tracks before officially entering Formula One when the team is ready. Of course, small privateers could not afford to do this, but big manufacturers could.

[przemo]

I was reading today's press conference and got curious about something Fernando Alonso said (in bold):

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Fernando, you and Flavio have both commented that Renault might have been hurt by keeping to the engine freeze much more than the others. Can you explain what you mean by that?
FA: When the engine was frozen two or three years ago I think Renault more or less stopped developing and carried on with the new regulations. At the Viry factory in Paris there are less people working and just the maintenance of the engine. Build the engine and nothing more than that, no research and no developing.
I was in another team last year and I know how much they improved the engine during the season and how many steps we introduced and it is the same for all the teams. Every three or four races there is a little step in the engine which gives you some horsepower. For Renault, it has not been like that for the last two years. There has been a lack of power probably in the last three years.
linky

So, how is it that McLaren was able to enhance their engine? I didn't really follow the technical stuff previously, so I don't know what he's talking about. Have they found some loopholes in the rules or something?

[texasmr2]

Have they found some loopholes in the rules or something?

If memory serve's me there are still are few area's in which they can try to expand upon?

Carefull with the 'loophole' innuendo toward's McLaren because that is what Ferrari has been incessantly bashed for, what's good for the goose must be good for the gander I guess.

[McLaren Fan]

I don't know what Alonso and Briatore are blethernig on about. The rules even state that there are certain ares which are allowed to be tweaked to produce more horsepower and there are probably a number of little loopholes in the regulations that can be exploited as well. If Renault didn't read the rules properly then that's their own problem.

[przemo]

Well, I only brought up McLaren, 'cause Alonso was in that team, but to be fair he said it was the same for all teams.

The rules even state that there are certain ares which are allowed to be tweaked to produce more horsepower and there are probably a number of little loopholes in the regulations that can be exploited as well.

Ok, I didn't know about that, I thought all development was frozen. So it's kinda weird that Renault is now complaining that they've been sticking to the rules as they stopped the development on their own rather than were forced to. Maybe they just wanted to explain their current form this way, it's sour grapes now.

[texasmr2]

For some strange reason Flavio's statement make's me want to think that may Renault F1 is not getting full support from their parent? Reason I say this is in regard's to Renault's statement's last season concerning them being able to afford Alonso and still being able to compete? Am I missing something?

[McLaren Fan]

I don't think you are, Gregg. It's well known - in fact, the team like to flaunt the fact - that Renault F1 are not the best funded team on the grid. On top of that, I remember reading ages ago that Renault are not prepared to pump any more money into its Formula One ventures. Basically, they've got to make do with what the cash they're given.