F1 2013 - The begining of the end

Skeeter

Skeeter

Skeeter

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So, from 2013 F1 will be using 1.6 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder engines limited to 600bhp and 10,000RPM, with some batteries and electric motors as well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9255871.stm

Assuming it takes a little while for these rules to filter into GP2, there should still be some good racing to have there, but I think ill have to look for another series to follow in the future.

I fully understand the reasoning around bringing manufacturers in and the money this will bring with it, but it will be to the detriment of what makes F1 what it is. if the cars arent screaming past at 18,000rpm it simply wont be the same. Im also not fully convinced that loads of car manufactures will be wanting to join if the regulations are so tight that all they do is build identical engines to each other...

Time to start watching more V8 Supercars I feel...
 
Oh thats sad, and all the guff about reflecting trends from consumers? Such pish, because the 1.6 litre turbos we have produce 600HP now don't they :rolleyes:

The fuel being burnt in F1 comes not from the cars running for 2 hours on a sunday afternoon but from the hundreds of thousands of miles covered by air freight getting them to far and distant countries, and I don't even care about that! Let them race!
 
Why the negativity? It's not as if the 2.4 l NA engines contribute much to the racing. It's quite possible that 600bhp turbo engines with 160bhp KERS could produce better on track action.

This is exciting, state of the art technology. Sounds good to me.
 
Im not convinced it will be a good thing for F1 - but Im willing to give it a go and see how it goes

All these changes are making F1 a lot less than what the "premium" of motorsport should be about though - imo
 
Do the engines have to be in-line?
4 cylinder boxer engines sound quite good!
Not forgetting F1 turbo engines of days gone by were only 1.5litres and sounded immense. However its quite clear engines now have very little impact on races these days.
 
Todge said:
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Its 600BHP from the engine and an additional 150BHP from KERS and such

LizardKing said:
Do the engines have to be in-line?
4 cylinder boxer engines sound quite good!
Not forgetting F1 turbo engines of days gone by were only 1.5litres and sounded immense. However its quite clear engines now have very little impact on races these days.
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It looks like engine specs will be very very very restrictive. Which effectively means every manufacturer will be making an identical engine with a different badge on it, which might actually have the oposite effect to what they are planning. Why would a load of car makers wont to join F1 if they werent allowed to compete with each other? It will go the way of the tyres and end up with a single engine supplier. This will then in turn mean a single gearbox and KERS package, and standardised packaging around the engine bay. Then they will standardise the other elements that could give an advantage, like Aero, and finally they will enter a 'rebranding excersise' and F1 will be renamed GP1...

PinkFloyd said:
If they can make them still sound good I'll be happy :) - even if the engine is just a 4pot rather than a v8.
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Unless they can make a 10,000rpm engine sound like its doing 20,000rpm, i wouldnt hold out much hope. Screaming F1 cars will be no more...
 
Ditto, the screaming 18,000rpm engine noise is distinctively F1 and it would be a shame to lose it. I have no doubt they can make it just as quick but it's just not quite the same.

thepedster said:
The fuel being burnt in F1 comes not from the cars running for 2 hours on a sunday afternoon but from the hundreds of thousands of miles covered by air freight getting them to far and distant countries, and I don't even care about that! Let them race!
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This. It's not that much about being green but attracting wider investment interests in the sport as said in the article.
 
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I agree, it's the overly tight restrictions that stop companies joining. What's the point if they can;t use it as a research and test bed. What exactly can they develop at the moment.
MMMM aerodynamics, that's about it. It's well understood and companies aren't interested in it.

As I keep banging on, restrict fuel and have no engine rules. no refuling, limit tank sizes.
 
ZG002 said:
Not nice, WRC cars are using 1.6 turbo engines next year ain't they? Standard FIA engine spec coming?
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You can't tell me you're surprised, surely? The wind has been blowing in that direction for years.

People need to get "Formula One" out of their heads for a moment. It's the World Championship of Grand Prix racing - it can run to whatever formula the FIA decrees. It doesn't have to be Fomula One. They could run it to (and have done in the past) Formula Two rules, or whatever formula they like.

The history of the GP World Championship, engine-wise:

1950-51 - 4.5L N/A or 1.5L turbo/supercharged
1952-53 - 2.0L N/A or 0.75L turbo/supercharged
1954-60 - 2.5L N/A
1961-65 - 1.5L N/A
1966-86 - 3.0L N/A or 1.5L turbo/supercharged
1987-88 - 3.5L N/A or 1.5L turbo/supercharged
1989-94 - 3.5L N/A
1995-2005 - 3.0 N/A
2006-current - 2.4L V8 (and a rev-limited 3.0L V10 for '06 only IIRC)

1.6L turbocharged engines aren't the end of GP racing. Alright, it's not great news, and it'd be a lot better if they were allowing some freedom over configuration (i.e. number of cylinders, and in-line versus boxer versus vee versus odballs like W and H). But if we end up with a spec engine across the board - so what? In short order the manufacturers will get bored, up and leave, and the formula will change again.
 
We've seen in the last 2 years that a major rejuvenation of the technical rules has produced some excellent racing compared to what we had before. I don't think this a big deal, for me, it's about the racing primarily. What it does mean is that designers will have to continue to come up with new and inventive ways to beat the competition - mainly aero nowadays.

From a purely technical point of view, it's a step back in a way, if anything a token gesture to environmental friendliness. Moving lorryloads of freight all around the world to an increasing number of venues is probably much worse for the environment than the cars ever will be.

Did I also read something about ground effect cars possibly making a comeback? That would reduce dirty air and allow closer racing perhaps.
 
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