F1 won’t lose speed with new 2014 engines – White

2014 F1 season

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Formula One will not be substantially slower following the introduction of new engines for the 2014 season, believes Renault Sport F1’s deputy managing director Rob White.

Despite concerns the V6 turbo engines could see lap times rise by up to three seconds, White believes there is “no need to worry” about the performance of the new cars.

Asked whether F1 will “retain the speed” under the new regulations, White said: “The short answer is yes.”

“What was an academic question in the beginning has become a lot more real from every point of view, but we have no need to worry. Obviously we are still in the virtual world and not on track but we have measured [power unit] performance on the test bed and have matched the most optimistic predictions.

“We believe that the power unit will deliver a lot of power and will be more than enough to make cars quick. The way that the cars will deliver this performance will be somewhat different this year due to the [power unit] and aero regulations. The driving experience will be quite different, but we will absolutely see real speed out on track.”

White believes the challenge of managing energy recovery within the engines while meeting a tight limit of 100kg of fuel will make for unpredictable races.

“This year there will be a lot of factors that drive unpredictable outcomes and from most people’s standpoint, unpredictable results are good in a sporting event,” he said.

“We need to keep hold of some of the fundamental elements – there will be 22 cars on the grid and when the lights go out the guy that gets to the flag first is the winner. In between there will be a battle for positions on track, meaning there will be real racing.

“The way in which the races are managed by the teams is one of the big differences between 2013 and 2014. It is fair to say there are several different ways to skin a cat and this will produce different scenarios as we explore different possibilities about how to manage energy and power.

“Although the tool kit that we have is different, the fundamentals of the races remain very similar. Ultimately it is for the drivers to go for the opportunities presented to them.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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21 comments on “F1 won’t lose speed with new 2014 engines – White”

  1. The way that the cars will deliver this performance will be somewhat different this year due to the [power unit] and aero regulations

    That’s the point. Most people fear massive loss of downforce will translate onto slower lap times.

    1. Massive loss in downforce will result in an even lower cornering speed. Which is already ridiculous. I don’t know about you, but anyone can drive fast on a straight line, and there is nothing entertaining about that. This obsession with safety is killing the sport for 20th season.

      1. I’m hoping for the best.

      2. To reverse your comment, this obsession with safety could also be the reason why no driver has been killed for almost 20 seasons.

        1. Nice burn on BLP.

    2. We had those fears in 2009 and by 2010 the teams had largely recovered their lost downforce. These are the best engineers in the world, they’ll recoup the losses.

      1. Exactly, and it doesn’t matter if the cars are a few seconds slower.. Developments become “more important” when you’re searching for 2 seconds, rather than two tenths.. It makes the sport more interesting i feel, rather than stable aero regulations like we’ve had for the past few years.

      2. @geemac
        There’s no way something like a double diffsuer is suddenly gonna pop up like it did back in 2009. Also, ever since the ban on DD, teams have not been able to claw back lost downforce (2010 cars cornered much faster than anything in 11,12 or 2013). Scope of radical developments in F1 is gone for now, unless FIA decide to actually open up some areas of development, which will probably never happen.

    3. @jcost To be fair, I personally don’t care about lap times, as long as there is real racing :)

      1. I’d rather have more competitive racing with 1,5 seconds slower cars but I don’t want to see cars going 3 seconds slower and eventually even slower due to fuel saving. But I’m not expecting that, top engineers and designers will get on top of that sooner than later.

      2. Things that I care mostly about any racing cars are performance, engine sound and lap times, so for example I wouldn’t like if the fastest lap of the weekend in the upcoming season at monza would be like 1m26, because racing is about driving the track around as quick as possible so from these 2 words ”Faster” and ”Slower” I always prefer the first one.

  2. “The way in which the races are managed by the teams is one of the big differences between 2013 and 2014. It is fair to say there are several different ways to skin a cat and this will produce different scenarios as we explore different possibilities about how to manage energy and power.

    Sounds good to me, let’s hope that becomes reality and lasts for more than the first 3-4 races (until teams converge on one best practice).
    The more diversity in approach the better in my view, especially if they all have a fair chance of reaping results at different tracks or parts of the weekend.

  3. 1) Faster does not equal better, therefore slower does not equal worse.
    2) Not surprising if they are slightly slower, this is the first time in over 20 years they’ve had V6 Turbo’s, vs. the years they had to perfect V8 powered cars
    3) Less downforce is something that F1 needs. You should see more drivers out-braking one another. In other words, more of a window for REAL passing.
    4) The new changes do bring some mystery and an unpredictable attitude: something Formula 1 desperately needs.

    1. Quite agree.

    2. Well said, I totally agree with you 100%!!

  4. I’m more excited and intrigued for this season than I have been in many, many years. Can’t wait to see the solutions the teams have come up with and how quickly they can claw back lost time.

  5. The more I hear about developments for the 2014 season, the more I anticipate it. Although allowing drivers to use KERS/ERS systems is technically ‘artificial’ I myself would much rather see drivers tactically deploying ERS units for boosts than generic DRS passes. DRS passes do not test a driver’s offensive/defensive skill the same way ERS-catalysed battles round long sections of the track do; I don’t want drivers to rely on DRS straights to execute an overtaking move. Moreover, with the turbo engine I hope to more frequently see ‘real racing’ on ’14 circuits

  6. The cars will have more Torque, less drag and less cornering speed. Does anyone not think that this could help overtaking? The top speeds will be about the same, if not a bit faster, and the braking zones would be much larger with the lower downforce!

    Imagine, a Ferrari passing a Red Bull into the Parabolica at Monza on the last lap… it’s closer to reality this year!

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