Ecclestone wants standard F1 engine

[Dave B]

We've already got A1GP for stunts like that.

F1 is supposed to be an arena where teams and manufacturers can showcase their talent and technology.

I hate to sound melodramatic, but a standard engine would effectively be the end of Formula One.

As ever with these two, I can only hope - as Ioan has already said - that it's a bargaining position to force the teams to accept a compromise.



Has anybody got anything hard I could bang my head against?

[V12]

On another serious note - does anyone else find themselves patronised and insulted when they come out with comments like "nobody watching would notice" when talking about standard engines and all that rubbish.

I'm interested in what engine developments have been done. I'm interested in when an engine breaks 20k rpm. It's a story. It's a talking point. I'm just using the engine thing as an example but the same could be applied to anything (tyres, chassis, teams switching engines, etc). When you reduce it to standardised machinery then it literally becomes what my school friends always derided it as when I started watching: a bunch of cars going round in circles.

I'm sick of being made to feel like, because I am interested in all various facets of the sport, technical and human, my opinion matters less than some fair-weather fan who has just decided to watch in the past year because they read about Lewis Hamilton's diamond encrusted helmet in The Sun or something.

[Valve Bounce]

Just wait till human cloning is perfected and we'll have a "standard driver".

.

I can just imagine 20 Lewis Hamilton's on the grid, all arguing as to who should start on pole. :

[Dave B]

On another serious note - does anyone else find themselves patronised and insulted when they come out with comments like "nobody watching would notice" when talking about standard engines and all that rubbish.

Yes. Me for one.

I consider myself intelligent enough to broadly understand the technology of motorsport, the strategy, the physical demands on a driver and so much more. I accept completely that F1 must reach out to a wider audience, but this constant dumbing down to appeal to the lowest common denominator is an insult.

I'm honestly waiting for the day when the drivers are replaced by celebrities and Simon sodding Cowell judges their performance before opening up the phone lines so we can vote at £1 a pop who we want to win.

[ArrowsFA1]

On another serious note - does anyone else find themselves patronised and insulted when they come out with comments like "nobody watching would notice" when talking about standard engines and all that rubbish.

I thought along similar lines when Max was asked about "Ferrari International Assistance". He said no-one noticed when Raikkonen was penalised in Monaco because it was Ferrari. 1) It was noticed. 2) There was no fuss because it was a clear rule breach over which there could be no debate.

[I am evil Homer]

One engine might....just might.....make sense if they completely relaxed the aero and chassis rules to enable manufacturers to innovate. But they won't so it's a pointless idea.

[Areez2006]

To everyone arguing, I don't understand why everyone is up in arms! F1 racing did not start around the great depression, so imagine if it did! There were times when there weren't even championships held because of outside forces (WW2). There are things in the environment that forces things to change, so people sometimes have to adjust even when they do not want to. Im a college student, and I do not want to spend less but find myself forced to because of this economic crisis we are going through. It is essentially the same thing with F1. Imagine Redbull, Force India, STR, and Williams leaving the field...hmm, now we have Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Toyota, Honda, and Renault. That's a 12 car field (and a very real possibility). I have not really heard reports of people knocking on F1's doors for entry. Porsche and Audi have not expressed interest right now, but maybe they might consider if costs were reduced. I don't know where I stand on common engines, but I definately know I don't want to see 12 cars rolling around on a track. THAT would be the death of F1.

[V12]

I just believe that artificially restricting any component on the car is just....well I just can't reconcile with it at all. I've accepted the standard ECU as I feel the ends justify the means, the single tyre has already pushed me to the edge, and now this.

I strongly believe the teams will adjust and cut their cloth accordingly. If they can afford to spend a few million on some aero development that gains them 0.1 of a second, they will, if they can't, then they won't and they'll be a tenth of a second slower - that's it.

The onus has to be on the individual teams to manage their spending - either they can afford to do something, or they can't. One thing I *would* welcome is scrapping prize money and replacing it with a completely even distribution of funds among the teams, but I'm sure there's too many vested interests at play to ever make that a reality

Some teams might go to the wall, there may be a few years of much smaller grids than we'd like, but the whole financial thing is relative, and while it might take a few years for the whole thing to correct itself (like the worldwide financial situation as a whole), if everybody suffers the same financial hit, then relatively speaking we are all back where we started anyway.

But.....to be honest right now I wouldn't mind seeing the whole thing implode and die on it's arse and see what grassroots movement(s) emerge from the ashes.

[Rusty Spanner]

I'm not sure Bernie really wants a standard engine because he knows that would make the sport less appealling to manufacturers.
What Bernie really wants is to reduce costs because he knows that unless they are brought under control F1 will loose manufacturers and teams. Without the manufacturers and the money they spend on marketing themselves and F1 the sport is commercially less valuable. And hey if Bernie can get the rules changed to reduce costs there will be less pressure on him and the banks who own F1 to give a greater share of the sports commercial income to the teams.

[Rusty Spanner]

I'm not sure Bernie really wants a standard engine because he knows that would make the sport less appealling to manufacturers.
What Bernie really wants is to reduce costs because he knows that unless they are brought under control F1 will loose manufacturers and teams. Without the manufacturers and the money they spend on marketing themselves and F1 the sport is commercially less valuable. And hey if Bernie can get the rules changed to reduce costs there will be less pressure on him and the banks who own F1 to give a greater share of the sports commercial income to the teams.

Having said all that just maybe a standard engine would be the lesser of possible evils in order to see F1 through what is definitely going to be a very difficult period for it.