Will there be F1 in 2016?

[drunkenmaster]

Without an agreement to supply year old engines RBR are up the creek without a paddle. Ferrari had offered year old engines which is not allowed (Manor exception of course). They won't get a Mercedes engine now. So that leaves crawl back to Renault? or ask McLaren Honda.

What would you do?

Andi.

Nothing is 'not allowed', why are people so black and white when it's so clearly not.

Manor got an exception for an old engine and frankly anyone can get an exception for anything. If Ferrari managed to convince the powers that be that they can't manufacture enough 2016 engines for an extra team or two next year they would almost certainly be able to get permission for them to use last years engines.

The whole situation is another political game and the press post everything in the most dramatic way possible taking every new story as fact and posting it up as such when a story will come the next day proving it completely wrong.

I wouldn't even rule Merc engines out and I wouldn't take any 4 engine limit as stone wall either.

If Merc want to give out say 6 engines next year but Bernie, or the other teams or FIA isn't willing to allow them, you manufacture a situation whereby Merc pretend to not want to supply more engines and create a situation in which two teams, one of the biggest on the grid and one of the stronger midfield teams, could leave. You create a situation in which the lesser of two evils, allowing Ferrari or Merc to have so many cars on the grid or two important teams leaving, ends up being something the powers that be push to get done for the greater good of the sport.

Thing is, and this is what bugs me, F1 has operated in this way for 30 years. Bernie also has for 30 years said things to wind people up in the same way, suggest A, everyone complains, threaten B, C and D which everyone thinks is nuts and they all settle down and agree on A. If the sport has been run like this forever why do fans buy all these daft rumours when they are incredibly transparent?

Why do people listen to the press when they contradict themselves every 42 seconds, press haven't been journalists for 15-20 years, they are just drama queens basically. Everything posted, every headline, every misquoted driver/team boss, it's all about hits not investigation or accuracy.

 

[deuse]

You don't need a -1 engine to be lower performance than the manufacturer team.

No doubt if they accepted a lower state of tune (map, whatever) then they would need to keep it confidential. This is quite possible, the maps are so complex now no-one could know it was lower performance (certainly not just from speed trap data). They could speculate but that is all.

I doubt Red Bull would like that, being lower performance than Ferrari and not being able to complain about it publicly.

I imagine that is the conversation being had right now, back-room games. Could RBR carry on with Renault? Their deal still has a year on it does it not? If they have not already signed an agreement to split Renault would be breaking the contract if they refused to supply now. They might not care what it cost them of course.

There will be an unholy scramble to pick-up the best talent if they do quit, it's quite possible someone would buy them as a going concern to enter their own team but before that could be confirmed the staff would be cast wide and far.

It's all talk by RB. RB are in a binding commitment to stay in F1 till 2020.
If they did leave(please do) they would have pay Bernie(CVC) over $350 mil.

 

[Third Opinion]

I personally think this RBR engine row is what is fueling the fears over the future of F1.

RBR were more than happy with suppliers when they were dominating F1 but have been quick to drop them like a hot potato when things are not so good.

RBR are not going to be satisfied until they receive a supply of the latest Mercedes engines, nothing else will do.