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i just want to clarify - since fernando is going to start at the back of the grid anyway because of his spin, he can put in a new engine without much consequence right? could this be an advantage, with renault perhaps tuning this engine up as it doesn't have to last for as many miles as normal? sorry im just looking for a clarification of the rules here.
Good idea, that's why it is called a loop hole. but since they have their regualr engine in good condition, why do they want to change it, the rule saves them cash and they have to disassemble and reassemble the whole rear end of the car, that would take time.
Renault will definitely change the engine if there is no other penalty. They've proven themselves contenders and the advantage is too much to overlook.
For a small team it might be hard to cost justify, but big teams changed all their engines before the race last year and would do it again this year if it weren't for the penalty, which Fernando doesn't have to worry about anymore.
Location: Covilhã, Portugal (and sometimes in Évora)
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Well probably Renault might change the engine....and give it a little more revs.....
About the small teams, it isn't that expensive since the engine contract stipulates a number of engines per season and since the engine supplier already takes 2 or 3 spares to each race....just in case....and the smaller teams test a whole lot less....they don't tend to use up all the engines the contract stipulates.
About 12/13 years ago you could get the engines on a "supermarket" basis.....this is you could only pay what you wanted...but now a days you have a fixed price per season....it's true that you can do a slight negociation, but with this years reg changes probably teams would negociat a contract with a few more engines since they don't know if the engines will in fact resist the whole weekend.
Location: Covilhã, Portugal (and sometimes in Évora)
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Well....back just remembered that I had a press release from Minardi about the ford contract.....so to give you an idea last season Ford sent to each GP 8 engines per team.
As I’ve posted elsewhere, according to Giancarlo Minardi the contract with Ford for 2003 was 14 Millions $ for 22 new engines and 60 revisions, definitively less than 1 new engine per race per car.
As for the original question it seems to me that the penalization for the engine change, after the qualifying (hence in parc fermé), is to start from the pitlane, not sure though. The 10 places on the grid should be applied for the engine change before the “qualifying”. Pantano who used the t-car, is in fact full of fuel and cruised just to complete the lap because he was last anyway.
Besides, as a Ferrari fan I want to say that, exactly as it was my sentiment in Spain and Canada last year when it happened to Raikkonen and also to Alonso himself here in Monza, I’m far from happy to see a driver who was in fight for a good position in the race forced to start from the end of the grid/pitlane just because, God bless him, he was trying to set a good time in qualifying.
If a boring two hours “qualifying” with drivers pushing at 80% just to not be eliminated even before the start of the race is good for F1, then probably I have a wrong idea of what F1 is. And that without talking about the ban of refuelling between qualifying and race...
seymour wrote:Renault will definitely change the engine if there is no other penalty. They've proven themselves contenders and the advantage is too much to overlook.
For a small team it might be hard to cost justify, but big teams changed all their engines before the race last year and would do it again this year if it weren't for the penalty, which Fernando doesn't have to worry about anymore.
I guess _any_ team would change the engine. Too costly? they may as well use the old one during one of their tyre tests.
