tuj wrote:The engine problem would be easily solved by removing ERS and the fuel flow limit. Then we can return to high-rev'ing units and spare the expensive batteries and electronic motors/generators. Keep the turbo and the current displacement and architecture, but let them rev as high as they dare and use as much fuel as they want to carry around the track. The limit on number of engines per year I think actually makes each unit more expensive, as there needs to be much more engineering to keep the engine viable and sealed as opposed to just tearing it down after a race and rebuilding what needs rebuilding.
But the ERS and amount of permitted engines to be used is what makes it interesting, instead of just blindly going on in an old formulae that is starting to get outdated. V12 engines have proved themselves. V10 engines have proved themselves, v8 engines have proved themselves. There's only so much 'engineering' to be performed, at a certain point, you reach the general 'end' of improvement and it just becomes 'detailing'.
The future of the automobile industry isn't high-revving n/a engines (anymore). It's about downsizing and using alternative energy resources. Hybrid is the way to go, and F1 can't stay behind.
Therefore, the ERS and Turbo combo is a working combo. The fuel flow limit, imho, is just a bit too much of it. You already have the reliability, the development freeze, and much more to account for. the Fuel restriction is, despite it's somewhat understandable in a 'green' image, what hurts the new engine formula.