The qualifying for the United States Grand Prix was not as interesting for everyone. No less than four drivers got a grid penalty because of a new engine. Christian Horner is not happy with the engine rule and the additional penalties.
Costs of Formula 1
Formula 1 is a sport where the car is essential and to make sure the differences between teams don't get too big, F1 has chosen to keep the costs for the sport as low as possible. This is now regulated with a budget cap but was already done before by for example a limit on the number of engines.
By limiting the number of engines a team can use during a season, teams are disadvantaged when they constantly come up with new engines. This stopped the endless stream of updates and made the engines last longer. This has resulted in lower costs.
Horner not happy with number of engines
In the current F1 season the number of engines you can use are so low that almost every driver will get a grid penalty at some point during the season. According to Horner, there is, therefore, no point in reducing the maximum number of engines as much as it is now.
''I don't understand that. I have never been a fan of only two or three engines in one season. In the end, everyone will use four, so we have to take that into account in the future'', says the Red Bull Racing team boss according to Formel1.de.
You can wonder if this is really the case. Teams are always looking for the limit and apparently have discovered that taking a grid penalty once or twice in a year is better than using an engine in a lower setting for more races. If more engines are allowed, the teams might choose to use an extra engine again.
I would give them the extra engine, no one wants to see engines turned down. We tune in to watch not just the drivers push the limits, but the teams. Take away ingenuity and F1 is just another class of motorsport not the pioneering class that sets the standard as it has throughout the years. Cost caps are great for competition giving the smaller teams a fair go, but let the teams decide how to spend it.
I think 3 engines is ok. But if a engine (or other part) needs to be replaced due to a crash you don't get a penalty. As no-one will crash the car on intention. Further, if a car crashes due to a other team and is not able to drive away from the crashsite. The guilty party will get a penalty for a fix amount, this money will go to the other team as contribution to the repair costs. This way, teams will be more carefull to bend the rules and drive with more respect. The teams will get a partly fix compensation for the repairs if the car can't race anymore. Like Lewis in Italy and Verstappen in Silverstone.
Yes with increasing number of races they should increase the limit
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