Patrick Head not happy with proposed engine changes

Earlier this month, Max Mosley spoke about possible changes to the engine regulations after all. Earlier, Mosley stated that 'engine regulations will be stable until 2007'. With the F1 Commission scheduled to met in Paris on Tuesday, March 19, this matter will hopefully be resolved.

"I'm just extremely disappointed about the mechanism by which these new proposals come about," stated the Patrick Head, Williams Technical Director.

"Max Mosley has been publicly saying that the engine regulations will be stable until 2007 and then, on the other hand, in a manner which did not consult the interests of the engine manufacturers, threatens a change which is as big a change as suggesting it should be a different number of cylinders or a different capacity. I just don't think it's been well thought out. I'm not saying that the end result might not be the same, I just don't like the mechanism."

Mosley's proposal would be to allow the teams to use just one engine per car per grand prix weekend. Some teams appeared to favor the plan; mainly the Bridgestone teams including Ferrari.

"It's politics," stated Head. "As it is at the moment, Michelin tyres are very good, but they need scrubbing for 10 laps, sometimes 15. If you have a two-stop race that means we have to do 45 laps to prepare our tyres for the race. Now, if you are Ferrari, with tyres that don't need scrubbing and with Michael Schumacher, who only needs one lap to get a time out of the car, your best way of doing damage to your two serious competitors is to propose one engine for a weekend. It's all politics. We are being manipulated. That's what's going on."