Alternative engine configuration

All that has to do with the power train, gearbox, clutch, fuels and lubricants, etc. Generally the mechanical side of Formula One.
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turbof1
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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It's something I would call in economic terms a non-competitive competitive market. You have 4 normal manufacturers who compete against eachother, and one manufacturer bringing a product to the table which is not following the same boundaries of market.

It's not a monopoly; it's a freak of economic nature. And it is not going to end well.

@Phil: what you are telling is that if Renault, Mercedes, Honda and Ferrari end up being slower then the alternative engine, is that they have to dump their high cost PUs to run an engine which cannot be produced by their own or rebranded. They are not going to do that. Rather they will leave the sport in that situation. They are in this to get brand exposure as engine manufacturers, to show how high techy techy they are. Running an engine that is not theirs is taking all of that exposure away, along with the incentive to stay in F1. Yes, even in the cases of Renault and Honda, who have not invested dozens of millions into highly regulated PUs, just to be beaten by an engine free from many restrictions.

If that happens, I think many more will be lodging complaints at the EU Commission.
NL_Fer wrote: That would mean 125kg of fuel to start with, or are they bringing back refuelling in 2017?
Yes, it would be more weight in terms of fuel, but let's not forget that the alternative engine is lot lighter then the current PUs. The extra weight in fuel will be offset by the reduction in engine weight. If I'm not mistaken, the battery alone is 25kg, and you cannot burn the battery off during the race. You can burn off 25kg of fuel.

Furthermore, there's apparently no limitation on the amount of engines used during the season:
The FIA will impose no limits on Maximum RPM, engine durability or fuel flow.
Meaning you could run one engine for each race weekend or even one for free practice, one for qualifying and one for the race. That is a huge implication since that means you can build a very lightweight engine. I would not be surprised if we'd see such an engine being below 100kg.
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FW17
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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turbof1 wrote: If that happens, I think many more will be lodging complaints at the EU Commission.

Did Audi and Toyota launch an EU investigation in the years when there was a BOP between Petrol and Diesel in LMP1?

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turbof1
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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WilliamsF1 wrote:
turbof1 wrote: If that happens, I think many more will be lodging complaints at the EU Commission.

Did Audi and Toyota launch an EU investigation in the years when there was a BOP between Petrol and Diesel in LMP1?
That's different. First of all Audi and Toyota knew the sport is open to BOP when they signed up. Secondly, the rules are much more open to freely allow different PU configurations, so it requires BOP. Third, it actually ensures there is balance.

Not in F1. This is completely ignoring the current rule set by putting in an alternative engine which currently would be illegal. There's no ruling on BOP whatsoever, meaning that the competitiveness is entirely dependent on the FIA and FOM, which do not guarantee they will balance the playing field. And it will continually be put under pressure. If it's slower then the slowest normal manufacturer, nobody will use it. If you make it faster then the slowest, you are heavily disadvantaging that slowest competitor who puts in a multitude of investment compared to the alternative engine. And so on of course.
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FoxHound
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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By pandering to Red Bull, and let's face it this was brought in to keep Red Bull in the sport, they risk losing Mercedes, Renault Honda and even Ferrari.

As an institution, I didn't think FIFA would ever be surpassed by it's incredulous decision making. Back hander deals, unfair money distribution, questionable marquee venues(Russia/Qatar), Corruption...all things you could attribute F1 to a degree.
But you wouldn't get them proposing different rules for different teams on the same playing field.

By rights, all 4 manufacturers should follow suit and build "alternative" engines of their own. FOM/FIA would have a nightmare trying to stop that in court....
JET set

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turbof1
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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By pandering to Red Bull, and let's face it this was brought in to keep Red Bull in the sport, they risk losing Mercedes, Renault Honda and even Ferrari.
It's quite wrong to blame Red Bull for this; the issue is at the decision making level, who failed to incooperate a cost cap on the PU back when the regulations got conceived. If the authority structures fail, it's mayham everywhere.
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FoxHound
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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turbof1 wrote:
By pandering to Red Bull, and let's face it this was brought in to keep Red Bull in the sport, they risk losing Mercedes, Renault Honda and even Ferrari.
It's quite wrong to blame Red Bull for this; the issue is at the decision making level, who failed to incooperate a cost cap on the PU back when the regulations got conceived. If the authority structures fail, it's mayham everywhere.

Why is it wrong when its by proxy of Red Bull demanding engine parity, or quitting, that we have these proposals for 2017?

After all...
Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko confirmed the GP Brazil: "We stand behind this engine, it was the condition that we have stayed in F1
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/form ... 49122.html
JET set

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turbof1
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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Why is it wrong when its by proxy of Red Bull demanding engine parity, or quitting, that we have these proposals for 2017?
Again, there's nothing to blame for Red Bull on that front. The ones in charge created this situation by not putting enough safety measures. Red Bull does what any other team would do in the same situation: screaming and kicking around.

Let's also be clear that the FIA came up with the plan of the alternative engine right after Ferrari vetoed the cost cap -which for the record they had every right to veto- with Todt inmediately adding they would drop the plan in exchange for accepting a cost cap after all. These proposals are there because the FIA did not want to give in and want to pressure an other team into accepting cost saving measures for which that team did not signed up for, not because one team desperately searching for an engine tried to force it through after the plan was already on the table.

Red Bull then used it their advantage, but the origin of this did not start at Red Bull. It started at the incompetence of the FIA to not have those measures included back in 2011, please let's be clear on that instead of aimlessly blaiming Red Bull for that. Red Bull only saw an opportunity. They took it. I would have done the exact same thing in their place, and so would you. Does not mean they are to blame for the mess created by an institute that in all honesty is not competent enough to control 2 trees.
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FoxHound
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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I'm sorry turbo,

But if Red Bull hold a gun to the head of the governing body, utilising a quit threat as ammunition when it runs 2 teams, is ample evidence that this was driven by Red Bull.
This was exactly what Red Bull wanted, to stay in the sport. They have said as much too, so there can be no argument what the prime motivator was.

If the FIA didn't blink, anything was possible.

Red Bull used the situation at large, and the fact they have 20% of the grid, to their advantage.

Defending Red Bull to say that any team would've done this plain wrong. This is unprecedented....
JET set

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turbof1
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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FoxHound wrote:I'm sorry turbo,

But if Red Bull hold a gun to the head of the governing body, utilising a quit threat as ammunition when it runs 2 teams, is ample evidence that this was driven by Red Bull.
This was exactly what Red Bull wanted, to stay in the sport. They have said as much too, so there can be no argument what the prime motivator was.

If the FIA didn't blink, anything was possible.

Red Bull used the situation at large, and the fact they have 20% of the grid, to their advantage.

Defending Red Bull to say that any team would've done this plain wrong. This is unprecedented....
You are not listening. This did not start with Red Bull, it started 4 years ago when the FIA neglected to implement cost cap and supply measures in the sporting rules. It then reached the surface when Ferrari vetoed the cost cap to be implemented while under the rules. Red Bull only jumped on the wagon when the FIA tried to bully Ferrari into accepting the cost cap.

According to your analogy, this is the FIA giving the gun and bullets to Red Bull, explicitly telling Red Bull to hold the gun to their head and then telling Ferrari to bend or Red Bull will shoot them.

And yes, any team would asked for guarantees when they are given such an oppertunity. F1 is a shark club, not a charity fund raiser.
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FW17
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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Why would an alternate rule be illegal?

It is being done by the proper channel of modifying the technical and sporting regulation for 2017 which is perfectly within the limits of FIA.

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FW17
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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turbof1 wrote:
FoxHound wrote:I'm sorry turbo,

But if Red Bull hold a gun to the head of the governing body, utilising a quit threat as ammunition when it runs 2 teams, is ample evidence that this was driven by Red Bull.
This was exactly what Red Bull wanted, to stay in the sport. They have said as much too, so there can be no argument what the prime motivator was.

If the FIA didn't blink, anything was possible.

Red Bull used the situation at large, and the fact they have 20% of the grid, to their advantage.

Defending Red Bull to say that any team would've done this plain wrong. This is unprecedented....
You are not listening. This did not start with Red Bull, it started 4 years ago when the FIA neglected to implement cost cap and supply measures in the sporting rules. It then reached the surface when Ferrari vetoed the cost cap to be implemented while under the rules. Red Bull only jumped on the wagon when the FIA tried to bully Ferrari into accepting the cost cap.

According to your analogy, this is the FIA giving the gun and bullets to Red Bull, explicitly telling Red Bull to hold the gun to their head and then telling Ferrari to bend or Red Bull will shoot them.

And yes, any team would asked for guarantees when they are given such an oppertunity. F1 is a shark club, not a charity fund raiser.
At the stage of rule formulation the manufacturers would have blocked any attempt to a cost cap. If Ferrari Vetoed it now they would have done it then.

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FoxHound
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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turbof1 wrote:This did not start with Red Bull, it started 4 years ago when the FIA neglected to implement cost cap and supply measures in the sporting rules. It then reached the surface when Ferrari vetoed the cost cap to be implemented while under the rules. Red Bull only jumped on the wagon when the FIA tried to bully Ferrari into accepting the cost cap..
How is costs of any relevance for Red Bull to go barking for an alternative engine? They cannot use this, as it has no relevance to them!
What you are saying to me, is not the situation at large, it's the situation as you understand it.

How can Red Bull utilise a cost function that has no bearing on their participation? They turn profit from their participation so some Red Bull-istas tell me.

Remember, Give us an engine or we are out.

Show me a team other than Red Bull or Torro Rosso, which threatened to quit if they didn't receive either a competitive or cheap engine?
A clear and decisive threat please.
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turbof1
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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WilliamsF1 wrote:
turbof1 wrote:
FoxHound wrote:I'm sorry turbo,

But if Red Bull hold a gun to the head of the governing body, utilising a quit threat as ammunition when it runs 2 teams, is ample evidence that this was driven by Red Bull.
This was exactly what Red Bull wanted, to stay in the sport. They have said as much too, so there can be no argument what the prime motivator was.

If the FIA didn't blink, anything was possible.

Red Bull used the situation at large, and the fact they have 20% of the grid, to their advantage.

Defending Red Bull to say that any team would've done this plain wrong. This is unprecedented....
You are not listening. This did not start with Red Bull, it started 4 years ago when the FIA neglected to implement cost cap and supply measures in the sporting rules. It then reached the surface when Ferrari vetoed the cost cap to be implemented while under the rules. Red Bull only jumped on the wagon when the FIA tried to bully Ferrari into accepting the cost cap.

According to your analogy, this is the FIA giving the gun and bullets to Red Bull, explicitly telling Red Bull to hold the gun to their head and then telling Ferrari to bend or Red Bull will shoot them.

And yes, any team would asked for guarantees when they are given such an oppertunity. F1 is a shark club, not a charity fund raiser.
At the stage of rule formulation the manufacturers would have blocked any attempt to a cost cap. If Ferrari Vetoed it now they would have done it then.
Not necessarily. Possible, but not necessarily. Let me tell you why: budgets.

At the moment of rule formulation you work up your budget: material costs, overhead costs, R&D costs, etc. You factor in projected future revenue: R&D transfer, customer revenues, indirect revenue through marketing, etc. At the moment when the rules we have today were conceived, Ferrari basically inserted the budget based on X costs with Y revenue. If you implemented back then a cost cap, Ferrari could atleast have incooperated this into their budget. Reduce projected R&D costs, project a higher revenue from R&D transfer, reduce activities from other parts of the company or simply accept the lower revenue. At that point most costs were not made based on Y revenue.
We are now 2015. A large, if not the largest, chunk of the costs have been made, again based on Y revenue. Those are sunken costs and cannot be changed anymore. It's very unreasonable to now demand that you have a lower revenue when the costs have been made.

So Ferrari could atleast have been hold a bit more accountable in 2011 since they atleast could alter the budgetting. They could still veto it, with a possible repercussion that FIA could have said: "fine, then we'll wait until 2013. We'll not renew your veto right and in 2015 the cost cap will be implemented."
Why would an alternate rule be illegal?
I might have not formulated that completely as it should be. Illegal might give the wrong impression. This is my original sentence:
This is completely ignoring the current rule set by putting in an alternative engine which currently would be illegal.
The alternative engine would be something that the current manufacturers, bound by different rules, could not factor in their decision making process. I'm loathing it that they'll have to accept competitor with a PU which is not conform with the rules they have signed up for.
Foxhound wrote:How is costs of any relevance for Red Bull to go barking for an alternative engine? They cannot use this, as it has no relevance to them!
You are trying to change the subject. The fact of the matter is, the FIA wants to introduce an alternative engine and red bull saw an oppertunity in that. What reason they have for the alternative engine is irrelevant in a discussion where you blame red bull for forcing the fia into it, while it is the fia who only introduced this plan as a reaction to Ferrari.
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NL_Fer
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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To be honest it is weird. Since the fia is talking about a budget engine, altough there are no budget teams who cannot procure an engine.

On the other hand, we have Redbull, to good, to procure a competitive engine. Who doesn't need a budget engine, but seems to want to run this standard engine.

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FW17
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Re: Alternative engine configuration

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Well rules change like the exhaust blowing, double diffuser, F duct, FRIC, engine maps, mass damper, Michelin tyres etc.