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Formula 1 Going Diesel?

Global Warming critics are getting through to the highest levels of motorsports with F1 cheif Max Mosley recently proposing a plan for F1 cars to be powered by low-revving 2.2-litre turbo diesel engines (rev-limited to only 10,000 RPM) in the next five years.


The news comes from F1 Racing magazine which says that Mr Mosley's plan has already been sent to car manufacturers to gauge interest, so far, no manufacturer has publicly commented on the plan. Furthermore, manufacturers such as Ford and Volkswagen which currently have no interest in F1 have also been contacted.

The engines will be required to run on bio-diesel fuel as well as reducing their maximum power output from the current 700kW+ to around 580kW. Teams would also need to insure maximum engine reliability with requirements changing so that each engine would need to last five races without being changed (currently the engines only need to last 2 races).

Responding to criticism that F1 has become a little boring, Mr Mosley has proposed that all F1 cars be fitted with a four-wheel drive system as well traction control and a 13-second power-boost system to help increase overtaking maneuvers.

Even though promoting green motoring is a step in the right direction, it seems that Formula 1 is starting to lose the plot. Mr Mosley aims to not only make F1 a cleaner sport, but also increase its relevance to everyday cars. Despite what Mr Mosley thinks, one can never compare an everyday car to an F1 car, and thats the way it should be!

The whole point of Formula One is to push the boundaries of technology and create ultimate racing machines piloted by the world's best drivers. Although its essential for this technology to have practical implementations (so that the money spent on R&D can be used by manufacturers in their everyday cars), limitations placed by engine limits, fuel types etc will inherently damage not only F1s image but its future potential as the ultimate motorsport.

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