Ferrari Engine Usage

[Brian_W_Lawrence]

Here's another funny thing ....

Updating my files from the latest FIA Tech. Report I noted that among other drivers Lucas di
Grassi had a new engine at Suzuka, but according to my log of previous events that was
his ninth engine of the year. Now the first page of Jo Bauer's Report lists the number of
engines used so far for each driver, and that page shows Lucas with seven engines at
the start of the event. I also noted that F1Wolf has him on eight engines after Japan.

So, where's the error? I reviewed my saved copies of the Tech. Report from each event,
and the page one summaries certainly add up to eight for the season, and at seven events
he's listed as getting a new engine ready for Saturday practice. However, in the Report
for Turkey he's shown as getting a new engine AFTER qualifying - the FIA doc. is timed
at 12:55 on Sunday.

Doing some online research I confirmed that during Q1 he found that his engine was
down on power and that the team and Cosworth both said that a new engine would be
installed for the race. OK, so why wasn't that new engine counted in the report for the
next event (Canada)?

I can't answer that question at the moment, although I have a suspicion I know what
happened. Just over an hour before the start of the Turkish GP, the Virgin mechanics
detected a problem with the new engine. It was some sort of oil supply or circulation
problem and they, plus Cosworth engineers, had to rush to get Lucas onto the grid in
time for the start. I've read that they had to remove the engine to gain access to
fix whatever the problem was, so I wonder if they decided to install an old engine
instead? Probably not the one that they had removed after qualifying, but another
'old' one instead. Maybe they then reintroduced the new engine at the next event.

No confirmation found so far, but I'll keep looking. I can't imagine that the FIA missed
it and they should have penalised him by a 10-place drop at Suzuka - not that would
have made any difference, since he contrived to throw it in the barriers at the exit to
130R on his way to the grid. Curious.

 

[Speshal]

Very interesting there Brian - thanks, keep us posted.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

I am now totally confused about engine use.

After posting a link on another forum to the f1wolf.com engine usage table, I was lambasted for suggesting that Alonso had now used engine number eight four times, which the table appears to show (as does a similar one on vivaf1.com).
But those tables only show the total number of engines used, not which engine was used at any given meeting; they don't indicate if a driver reverts to an older engine. It seems that this has indeed already happened in the case of Alonso; apparently he used engine 7 at Spa, reverted to engine 6 at Singapore, then onto engine 8 at Monza, then back again to engine 7 for Suzuka and Korea.

So has Fernando only used engine 8 once? Where is there any information that would confirm this?

 

[Brogan]

This is exactly why I don't bother tracking the engines as all we know "for sure" is how many have been used, not when and where.

 

[tooncheese]

I think a rubbish site is correct, but does anyone know what this rule about the last race means, can they use any working one of the 8? Also is there a rule to stop them putting in older engines, like why havn't ferrari put in engine 3 or korea, as it had slightly better milage than engine 8... confusing stuff

 

[KekeTheKing]

It's incredibly confusing to track engine usage from the outside. Only the teams know exactly where they stand as far as mileage and wear. The only thing that fans can really track accurately is the amount of "Fresh" engines a driver has left.

I've got the FIA technical documents from this year as well Bro, and I've got absolutely no intention of sifting through those to discover when and where Nando might have used a specific powerplant. All I know is that he's had bulletproof engine reliability since Malaysia.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Thanks Keke.

Regarding 'fresh' engines, the only thing it seems we can be sure about is that none of the title contenders have one left.
But it's interesting to note that neither Renault driver has used their eighth engine so far, which makes me wonder two things, especially in light of Fabrice Lom's post-Korea apology to Red Bull:
Why does that engine seem to have been more reliable in Renault's own chassis than in the Red Bull?
And could Robert Kubica yet be a factor in deciding the eventual champion over the course of the next two races?

 

[F1Yorkshire]

I think it will be possible to track a rough estimation of what engines have been used when. To go back to the start of the season and note every engine change by a driver to try and work out what they have left to use would be a mammoth task.

Am I right in saying that the technical documents will say when a driver changes engine during a race weekend it will tell you if it was a brand new engine or if it was one previously used but it won't tell you the actual engine that was used?

The other information we need to know is the number of laps completed by a driver during practise sessions so we can gauge a rough idea of how many laps each engine has completed.

For next season if we were to track them from the start I'm sure we could work out with a fairly high degree of accuracy which engines a driver still has in play and how much mileage they have left. This could all be done on a simple spreadsheet for each car showing at what race they brought a new engine into play and if any of these engines develop a fault and have to be changed.

I've got a feeling I've just volunteered myself for this task.

 

[Brogan]

You will also need to find out which engine is used for P1 and P2 as only P3, Qualifying and the Race are classed as a single event.

This information is extremely difficult to find so ultimately there will be some guesswork involved.

Here's the techincal report for Korea: http://www.fia.com/EN-GB/MEDIACENTRE/F1 ... report.pdf

That will give you an idea as to what information is provided.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

You will also need to find out which engine is used for P1 and P2 as only P3, Qualifying and the Race are classed as a single event.

This information is extremely difficult to find so ultimately there will be some guesswork involved.

Here's the techincal report for Korea: http://www.fia.com/EN-GB/MEDIACENTRE/F1 ... report.pdf

That will give you an idea as to what information is provided.

The document clearly says which engine number Mark Webber installed and the time of the document shows it was after the Friday practise sessions. Kovalinen changed his engine after qualifying so the engine he used for Saturday will not be available for use until the last race of the season.

With this information I can create a spreadsheet working out which engine a driver is using. If there are any educated guesses I would indicate them on the sheet.

I think it would be better to create the spreadsheet listing the car number instead of the actual driver as HRT have a revolving door system when it comes to drivers.