New engine usage rule

[WhiteBlue]

Formula 1 drivers can use eight engines during the 2009 season, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali told the Italian press earlier this week.

It was previously understood that, as part of the new cost-cutting measures for this year, the original one-engine per two races rule had simply been extended to include more races per single 2.4-litre V8 unit.

However, as per the FIA’s clarification last month that mandatory engine life in 2009 has been “doubled”, Domenicali explained at the launch of the team’s F60 racer that drivers will now be allocated eight engines for the whole season.

Unlike in 2008 and before, therefore, this year engines do not need to be used consecutively, meaning that drivers can avoid the risk of using the same engine at arduous power-circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

Also crucially, penalties for ‘unscheduled engine changes’ will not be allocated until a driver has completely exhausted his season’s supply of eight power plants.

It means that a driver could theoretically use one engine in qualifying and another for the race, without attracting a penalty.

This is a very reasonable development of the sporting rule. Teams have a lot more flexibility to utilise their engine life span effectively without increasing cost. Well perhaps there will be a bit more mechanical work involved for fits and refits but that is negliable compared to the cost of new engines. I believe this is a good example for Fota input. Well done!!

[Sawtooth-spike]

Does this mean for instance

The first 8 races you Blow your Engine, there for you remaining races you get a penalty at every race?

Also what about the Friday Engine rule? they part of this 8? or are they a spare?

[midzt]

You have 8 engines for all running. Including Friday and you can use it however you want. So you can have dedicated Firday engines, but they still come out of your 8.
And yes, if yuo blow up 8 engines, in yuor first 8 races, you get penalties for any new engines you use, but not every race you use that 9th engine.

[Nat]

midzt, but 28.4 of Sporting regulation now says "Should a driver use
more than eight engines he will drop ten places on the starting grid at any Event during which an additional engine is used"

Where ANY means... any race where number 9 is used?

[Roland Ehnström]

Do you guys think this will mean that the teams will run special qualifying engines? Perhaps one special qualifying unit which will be used only in qualifying on tracks like Monza and Spa.

Also, do you think they will allocate one of their eight engines to only friday and saturday practice running (going the whole season with the same "practice" engine if that is possible)?

As I figure it, the best strategy would be to run the RACE engines as little as possible, if at all, on friday and saturday.

[Sawtooth-spike]

My guess would be that the friday engine one of the engines that has done its 4 races. But i dont know what they will do for the first few races

[Nat]

Qualy engine would be nice, however any change under parce ferme would mean not even 10 grid places but starting from pits?

[Agerasia]

The reduction in revs is actually going to be a benefit in some circumstances too. As the rev ceiling is lower the temps will be slightly lower, as will wear. This will enable the teams to run stronger maps depending on what circuit/engine they are using. They could tactically take a new engine to a fast circuit with a max BHP map.

[jddh1]

The final sentence in the article is wrong. If they use one engine for quali, then they cannot change it, as Nat carefully notes. So even if the rules might technically suggest you may use a separate engine for quali, the parc ferme rule negates that. But it will be allowed to have a separate Friday engine. This will allow the teams to run less conservatively I think, especially once they have a "used" engine they can run with.
It will be interesting to see how they manage running these 8 engines. I suppose, they will have one for slow tracks and run that as much as possible. Perhaps the hot weather tracks will have their won specified engine and so on. Who knows, perhaps Monza will indeed have it's own dedicated engine, at least on the Ferrari I think as they always want to win Monza.

It's also interesting to note that some teams might run a "slimmer" version of the Kers in certain tracks where weight is more important.

[Roland Ehnström]

Ah yes, of course, the parc ferme rule.

Good thinking that they will use "old" engines in friday practice later in the season.

Interesting about KERS. Perhaps it will even be an advantage to completely remove KERS for a track like Monaco?

[shir0]

This is just how I understand the 2009 F1 sporting rule on engine usage.

Based on the way Article 28.4 of the 2009 F1 Sporting Code had been written, it seems that the engine changes are not dictated by "EVENTS" anymore, unlike the way the gearbox is (with the exception of post qualifying and post-race parc ferme). I found out that unlike the 2008 sporting code article about engines, the 2009 sporting code Article 28.4 does not have a provision which defines Events. This might mean that any driver can interchange a total of 8 engines anytime before the start of qualifying practice or after the post-race parc ferme per GP weekend for the entire 2009 championship season. So, as long as any one of the 8 engines are still useable, they can be used as much as a driver can or wants to use it.

But, this doesn't mean that a driver can have a "dedicated engine" for use in qualifying only and a different one for the race itself without incurring a penalty. This is due to the fact that once a car leaves the pits to participapte in Qualifying Practice, the car is already under Parc Ferme rules until the start of the race. And, Parc Ferme rules state that:

34.5 If a competitor modifies any part on the car or makes changes to the set up of the suspension whilst the car is being held under parc fermé conditions the relevant driver must start the race from the pit lane and follow the procedures laid out in Article 38.2.

Also, each time an engine is to be replaced with the intent of not using it anymore (i.e. it's completely unuseable), it counts against the 8 engines available for the entire 2009 season. Therefore, a driver can only be penalized with the 10-place grid demotion after he exhausts his entire supply of 8 available engines. This is what's stated on the 2009 sporting code about this:

Article 28.4 a)...Should a driver use more than eight engines he will drop ten places on the starting grid at any Event during which an
additional engine is used.

@ Sawtooth-spike If a driver did completely blow/damage all of the 8 engines allocated for the entire season within the first 8 races, you will have the 10-place grid penalty at every race during the rest of the season you use an extra engine (9th engine in this case) which was not part of the original allocated 8 engines. Expanding on that line of thought, if your 9th engine had also been damaged beyond repair and you use a new, 10th engine, you'll have a 20-place grid demotion at every race you use that 10th engine...and so on. Reliability is really a big differentiator this season.

still @ Sawtooth-spike About the friday engine rule, that's what confuses me. In the official Formula 1 website it can be quoted that:

Teams will be limited to eight engines per season - eight for each race driver and an additional four for testing.

If I'm not mistaken, there is nothing in the FIA-published, 2009 F1 Sporting Code which states there is an additional 4 engines dedicated for testing purposes. If anyone of you knows anything to contrary, please correct me.

This leads me to believe that midzt might be correct about his statement that you can have "dedicated Friday P1/P2 engines" but these engines will still be any one of the 8-allocated engines for the 2009 season. BUT!...and this is a big "but"...There is a clause stating that if you race an engine and a driver intends to use that same engine in the next Event, the FIA scrutineers/officials will place seals on that engine at the end of the post-race Parc Ferme. Those seals can only be broken during the start of the next Event for which the sealed engine is intended to be used.

The rational for this is to avoid major part replacement/overhaul of the used engine in between the concluded race and the next Event. The confusion here is that as I've said above, Article 28.4 does not define what an "Event" means. In the 2008 Sporting Code, Article 28.4 defined an "Event" as comprising of P3, Qualifying Practice and the Race. If this definition still holds true for this season, then a driver can indeed use one of the still "unraced" engine (which is part of the original allocated 8 engines) for Friday P1 & P2.

Unfortunately, if all of the 8 allocated engines have already been raced, then the engine which a driver uses during Friday P1 & P2, will be the same engine he'll be using during P3, QP, Q1, Q2, Q3 and up to the end of the Race... assuming the engine stays working up to the end of the race.

[ISLAMATRON]

with a 18K rpm limit qualy engines dont mean much, i dont see the teams utilizing special qualy engines.

[Conceptual]

So, what happens when all of the teams exhaust these 8 engines? Since everyone would be penalized the same, it really wouldnt make any difference at all...

And can the 8 be maintained during the season? Can the be rebuilt? Examined?

The way that last post said, it seems that when an engine is done, the teams must tell the FIA. I would think nothing short of an explosion that tears apart the block would kill 8 engines if they can be given proper maintenance...

Am I wrong about this?

[WhiteBlue]

A rebuild engine would count as a new one. Th rule is qute simple. You have 8 engines for everything in the season. Every raceweekend you come with an engine not from those 8 allowed you get penalised.

[donskar]

Must the 18K rpm engine be a re-tuned version of last year's engine OR may the teams make physical changes?

What I am getting at is this: lower revs MIGHT allow the teams to SLIGHTLY lengthen the stroke and decrease the bore in order to create a "Monaco" engine that would give up some high-end power for more low-end?

Would it be allowable for the teams to submit two versions of the 18K engine?