Richards doubtful about early engine change

After the meeting in Monaco earlier this week, FIA president Max Mosley was optimistic that a new engine formula could be in place two years earlier than the 2008 schedule for the proposed regulation changes. Whether this would be a 2.4 litre capacity engine or an extended life expectancy three litre is still under discussion.

David Richards.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

Mosley said the teams were agreed on the need to have engines last more than one race but the debate is which engine type to use. "The only discussion on the engine was whether it was more economic to extend the engine life of a V10 rather than to have a 2.4," he explained after the Monaco meeting. "That's to say a V10 three-litre doing three races, four, five and eventually six races, rather than a 2-4 V8 doing at least two races and possibly more races later on."

BAR boss David Richards thinks 2006 is rushing things for the teams that don't have an engine partner, or new teams entering F1. In yesterday's press conference at Barcelona, Richards admitted that some of the proposals presented issues that needed to be resolved. "One of the fundamental ones for me is Max's desire to bring the engine regulation forward to 2006," he said. "In the cold light of day, most of the engine manufacturers could develop a new engine in 18 months' time. It's a hard task, but it isn't impractical."

"However, if those engine manufacturers are frantically designing a new engine over the next 18 months and developing it through 2006, where do you think the teams who don't have engine manufacturers, or, for that matter, any new teams coming into Formula One, are going to get their engine from? So maybe the time scale for that is maybe a little optimistic."

Renault boss Flavio Braitore doesn't believe it's that important to the fans what size engine is in the car. "I don't think that people care if, in Fernando's (Alonso) car, there is a 2.4 litre engine, a three litre, 1.9, people don't really have an interest in that," he said. "What they are interested in is if Fernando and Michael (Schumacher) are fighting together. They want to watch a race."

The engine manufacturers are meeting this weekend in Spain to discuss ways of cutting costs. Mosley stipulated that there had to be an agreement in time for the World Motor Sport Council meeting on June 30th.