Killing the V8

As I was reading a press release about the FIAs plans to introduce a single engine rule in F1 my thoughts quickly skewed to how single tracked F1 would become. Everyone would be on level packing in terms of power and racing at the pinnacle of motor sport would be reduced to merely aerodynamics, setup and driver skills.

I say merely with some degree of caution. Don’t get me wrong - I rate driver skills as a massively important aspect for F1 however once the novelty of 22 drivers racing on similar terms wears of, F1 will become another A1GP. Cheers for the Country aplenty and not much else.

F1 will become much of the same. If the manufacturers chose to stick around, people will be cheering for manufacturer. Surely some drivers will get accolades but over time morale to drive in F1 will wither and F1 may slowly experience a slow and expensive death.

It’s more likely however to predict that the big name manufacturers will shy away from the sport. As the sport slowly edges towards an being more of a exhibition (much like WWE), technical development will become less of a focus as the FIA continues to look for ways to drive down costs. The big name manufacturers will have fewer technologies to take away from F1 that they can plug into their road cars.

With anything that has to do with money, there are really two ways to understand why you’d want to purchase or spend. First you could set your requirements and look for the product that delivers on those requirements at the best price. Or you could look for the cheapest category-specific item in the market; paying little attention to weather or not it fits your needs.

I fear the FIA is biased towards the later.

Personally, the former should be the rule of the day. Teams should get together with the automobile industry as a whole and begin to understand the aspects of F1 that will make the sport profitable, pragmatic and exciting. Stop trying to save money for the sake of just that. The solution needs to be viable in the long run, not just cheap.

Non-power-sapping traction control systems were unheard of until it was introduced in F1. The trend for sustainable racing and roadworthy technology needs a revival. Here KERS comes in at the right time. Perhaps in future, hybrid F1 cars may be possible too. The possibilities are endless. But don’t stifle competitive development.

Necessity is the mother of invention but in today’s world, value also drives profitability. Bottom line: standardization is not the way to go in competitive motor racing. Standardised engines, if approved, will be the precursor to the demise of Formula 1 as we know it.