V8 engines should remain in F1's past
Formula 1's latest 'quick fix' - going back to V8 engines with 1000bhp - could boost the product in the short term, but it's far from a cheap and easy solution, LAWRENCE BARRETTO explains
They say you should never go back because you'll always be disappointed. But that's exactly what F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has suggested Formula 1 does, by ditching the new and more efficient 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines, which manufacturers have spent years working on at great expense, and returning to V8 power units that are revised to produce 1000bhp.
Part of Ecclestone's argument makes sense. "We need to go back to engines whose costs are more reasonable," he said. He's not wrong. The power units and their associated new technology are expensive. And with costs running as high as £18 million for some customer teams, that can equate to as much as a quarter of some of the smaller squads' budgets.
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