F1 has resisted a push to call off a scheduled engine rule change for 2018. Earlier, with the end of this season now affected by a spate of confusing grid penalties, some argued that reducing the per-driver allocation of engines from 4 engines this year to 3 in 2018 was a bad idea.
"I tried to get it changed at an earlier meeting, but there was no support," said Red Bull boss Christian Horner. But now, at the latest World Motor Sport Council meeting, the original plan to move from 4 to 3 engines in 2018 was ratified.
Not only that, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that "In 2018, only two MGU-K, batteries and ECUs may be used" per driver without penalty for the entire 21-race calendar. (GMM)
Mind numbingly stupid decision. If anything they should allocate more units for the next couple of years. But oh well, maybe we can move into 3 digit penalty numbers next year, so there's that...
By 2028, drivers will have to drive an entire season on one set of tyres and the cars won't be allowed to be cleaned or get a paint job between GPs. All to save costs, of course.
Given that the engine rules are going to change soon now, I can't imagine anyone is going to invest heavily in expensive season long reliability. I expect it will rain penalties next year, so no one will understand what the point is any longer. I suggest the manufacturers agree between themselves to change the whole kit every race in each of the first five races, and after that everyone is on their own. That'll solve the issue, with no impact, and little or no further penalties. That'll stir things up for a little while..
Its a bit too early to completely abandon development on the current gen, especially since a competitive, reliable engine can be the difference between getting alot of money and just scraping up the bottom leftovers, and alot of the things that are done on the current PUs can be used for the next gen designs, since they will basically be simpler versions of today's PUs minus the MGU-H.
Mind numbingly stupid decision. If anything they should allocate more units for the next couple of years. But oh well, maybe we can move into 3 digit penalty numbers next year, so there's that...
Agreed, its incomprehensibly stupid, and it just isnt benefitting the sport as a whole. Its costcutting in short term, in the long run it might actually cost them more, if viewer interest decreases. Already, I suspect this season's viewer interest has begun to decline now that penalties are starting to get dealt out. Monza, of all events, was outright stupid. Monza!
I know one team who will have loads of fun racking up them penalties: Toro Roso. I hear they can't wait to establish a world record with Honda that nobody can ever hope to match let alone beat!
The battle of attrition between Honda and Renault should be quite interesting next year.
All things considered, it's funny how much love Renault gets, and how much hate Honda gets, when they're really quite similar.
As of now the difference between the two is negigible. Renault has had more retirements on average, but Honda has been less competitive, so it evens out at the end. Though, as I've said before, I sincerely doubt this is what we'll see of either of them in 2018. I expect their 2018 seasons to be somewhat like what they had in 2016 but more competitive.
Simple question.....
How does penalising and putting a driver further back on the grid than he qualified save money?
All is does is p*ss of f the driver and the supporters!
Docking the teams points is reasonable, but not the driver!
After all he was usually penalised enough already in the previous race by having engine failure or at least loss of power!
F1 today is a castrated version of what it was years ago. Why can't they set simpler rules,establish equitable revenue sharing, and some type performance adjustment like additional fuel weight reduction additional development time for back marker teams. It is laughable that the rules allow the team that help develop the engine rules maintain their advantage for 3 years. there is nothing green about racing. let them run 21000 rpm again get another tire manufacturer let F1 be a race series not a parade.
Would you like to stay up to date with the latest Lewis Hamilton and Formula 1 news from GPtoday? Activate free push notifications and be the first to know!
13
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Mind numbingly stupid decision. If anything they should allocate more units for the next couple of years. But oh well, maybe we can move into 3 digit penalty numbers next year, so there's that...