Quote:
Originally Posted by Inigo Montoya
Appendix 4 of the sporting regulations says that after the FIA has approved a changed it is circulated to the other PU manufacturers, as you say... However, it does not say what happens if the teams object. So far, nobody has objected to the changes (new turbo shaft for Renault, and new engine mappings for Ferrari).
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I very much doubt that they would object because it could be them that needs approval next week/month, so it's a case of you scratch my back, etc. And, in theory, both Renault and Ferrari will have had to demonstrate that the changes were necessary to improve reliability.
This part of the regs springs from the cost saving elements that were necessary to bring in and to keep new entrants. One way of keeping power-unit costs in check is to make them more reliable, and once you have done that you can then restrict the number of units that can be used in a season.
In very broad terms, huge amounts of money was being spent by the then engine suppliers/entrants on constantly producing more and more power from their engines - we even had qualifying only engines - so that the engines became more strained and often less reliable. Now teams will know exactly how many power-units, gearboxes, etc that they will require for the year and what thatpackage will cost. They won't be faced by their supplier in the middle of the season demanding extra money to be provided with the latest spec unit just so that they can keep up with the competitors that can afford the extra cost.
I must admit that I approve of this model, and I wish that more could be done to reduce costs in the sport, and that the sport could return to just being that - a sport, not a race to spend money. Sometimes I think that those running and entering the lofty heights of Formula 1 could learn a lot from the grass-roots of motor-sport, certainly the one that I used to be involved with. We may then not have to face so many conflicts between teams - every time they put their PR hats on, they may smile when talking with/about their fellow competitors, but it's through grirtted teeth.