Big Tea wrote:diffuser wrote: ↑17 Oct 2020, 13:01
Pretty sure Ferrari are running the same PU they started the year with. They've looked better in power limited tracks of late. I think there is a 50% chance they will have caught up by the beginning of 2022. Nobody has been able to catch Merc in 7 years why do you think Ferrari will be after throwing away 2 years of development?
I would doubt Ferrari had only the one ' marginally legal' engine under development this year. The had to realise there was a good chance of being caught. Even if the engine was in a running state it would probably be on the machine.
It has taken longer than I thought to come through already. Then again, looking at LeClerc maybe the engine is not that far off, especially when you consider the car was designed around the expected performance this year.
I would be surprised if Ferrari are not 'thereabouts' by mid season next year at the latest. As I said though, if Merc are in this with them, they will move much of their effort to the new engine, knowing they have a buffer in place.
If no one agrees to the freeze, then probably Merc will put more into developing this engine, so even more of an effort needed for Ferari.
Also, how embarrassing would it be to them if Haas took up Renault and had good results?
I don’t think Renault will support the freeze either... They will be introducing a new engine concept next year (which could be delayed to 2022) and they will want to use as much time as they can to extract the maximum out of the new concept... Ferrari won’t stop development either and will try to improve their PU until the last minute.
Mercedes might be the only one that could agree to the earlier freeze and that’s only because they have still an advantage over the other two manufacturers.
But, Red Bull has shared responsibility with their current situation... Yes, the pandemic has hit the manufacturers and that is beyond anyone’s control, but just as Honda made promises in regards to performance, I’m sure that Red Bull also made commitments in regards to the chassis performance and they have not hit their targets.
If Red Bull leaves because the rules aren’t changed for them, it will be sad for the sport, but by no means it will the end of it... Red Bull has at least one clear option for an engine if they don’t want to use it because it will be embarrassing to go back to Renault after all the trash talk during the end of their stint working with them, that’s on them not Formula 1.
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