Brrrr! It's 'freezing'....

[Porceliamone]

In case you missed this on other sites...

A quick one from me to gather some opinion...

Last year the development of engines was frozen and (I think) all power units underwent rigorous inspection at some point throughout the season, none of which failed.

However, Honda and in particular Renault dropped the ball in this department prior to the freeze and were apparently significantly down on power compared to say the Ferrari or Mercedes engine.

Now, due to this disparity in performance Renault have been given a 'one-off' chance to restore the balance by making modifications to their engine.

Ultimately I ask this:

Is this fair given that each team had exactly the same opportunity to prepare their units in the time available prior to the freeze?

Should the other teams expect special treatment in the future as this has set a precedent?

For more info you can also read this article:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73025

 

[Brogan]

I think the argument that has been made in Renault's favour is that the other teams, although complying with the letter of the law regarding engine freeze, managed to perform some tweaks to increase the power by exploiting a loophole.
As I understand it Renault did no work at all on their engine until very late in the season, due to at first strictly complying with the rule.

I suspect the FIA consider this to be slightly unfair towards Renault and hence the special dispensation.
I have no doubt that this has been done not only to put Renault on a more even keel but also to keep sponsors and viewers happy.

Alonso is a big draw after all and if he performs better this year then it can only be better for ticket sales, etc.

P.S. "other sites"?

 

[Porceliamone]

Well....as I rarely post articles I thought I should let as many people as possible reap the benefits of my insight! Posting at 'the other place' seemed logical!

Thanks for the response though and yes, as much as it peeves me somewhat I have to agree that in this case it should be allowed, if just to ensure a decent sporting spectacle alone. However, as GM has stated too, it opens up the floodgates for future claims from other teams as, as you put it, special dispensation was granted here. The FIA do just love making rods for their owns back don't they!?

 

[Croydon Bob]

Touring Car and NASCAR have different rules for different teams to try and create a level playing field. It always seemed odd to me but seems to work OK for those involved. It's not something I like to see in F1 but then neither is an engine freeze.

I think that the reason Renault got this 'one-off chance' probably had more to do with threatening to quit than anything else.

 

[teabagyokel]

Can you hear the drums...?

Despite one of the best title races ever, involving two pretty marketable characters (if you want to sell stuff in Brazil or Italy...), F1 seems to be pandering to el mercado español in everything that it does! For el mercado español, Alonso needs to be winning. Now I think this could be because Santander* is a pretty huge sponsor of Formula One. It sponsors the Grand Prix of Britain, Germany and Italy! Hence, Santander will want something for their money! In order to please both F1's main sponsors ING† [Renault] and Santander [Spain], the best thing for F1's money men is Alonso victories!

I wonder if Santander will mind if Alonso wins the Santander British Grand Prix and the sound of booing envelops the winner. (Remember when Kova passed him at Silverstone - the cheer was as big as when Hamilton won the race!)

Anyway, cynical teabagyokel time is over.

*other banks are available
†other insurance groups are available