Keeping Track
Last year, a driver was only supposed to use one engine for two races. If his engine blew up and he needed a fresh one, a penalty was imposed. Personally, I found it quite hard to keep up with this. Was the driver on his first or second race with his engine? Would he be forced to back off in the closing stages, coasting to a points finish? Was he more or less likely to break down this time around? Is it a penalty, or did the problem occur in transit?
I tried to keep a record, but in the end, I didn’t feel it mattered that much. At the beginning of every race, ITV commentator James Allen would explain the ruling to us anyway, point out anyone affected, and Martin Brundle would pick up on those who were managing their engines.
This year, however, it’s all gone a little bit crazy. Now we have to keep an eye on the engine and the gearbox. We need to remember who is going back ten places and who only five. We need to count two rounds for the engines and four for the gearboxes. And worst of all, the first engine breakdown is a freebie, no penalty at all.
The FIA say they will monitor the first engine breakdown and make sure it is a genuine failure. I don’t see why. If a team wanted to waste their freebie on switching an engine just because they feel like it, that’s their choice. When one does break down, they’ll wish they hadn’t.
