F1: Cosworth wins FIA standard engine tender for 2010

[revvo]

Cosworth win FIA standard engine tender

The legendary Cosworth name could return to Formula One racing in 2010 if the FIA pushes ahead with plans to introduce standardised engines, one of three options being offered to the teams should they fail to come up with their own viable cost-cutting measures.

The FIA revealed on Friday that they are in exclusive negotiations with Cosworth, along with gearbox specialists Xtrac and Ricardo Transmissions (XR), to supply a complete low-cost power train that will be made available to all teams. The engine will be based on the current V10 specification, while the gearbox will be an all-new, state-of-the-art unit.

The other engine options being proposed by the FIA are for teams to build their own engines to Cosworth’s specifications, or to continue with their current ‘frozen’ V8s. In both cases, the engine would be paired with the standard XR transmission.

A number of teams have already voiced their opposition to the standardised engine concept and are expected to put forward alternative engine proposals to be considered by the FIA at next week’s World Council meeting.

Friday’s FIA announcement follows news that Honda is to pull out of Formula One racing in light of the global economic downturn, a move that FIA President Max Mosley said further emphasises the need to bring the cost of competing in the sport under control.

“As the guardians of the sport, the FIA is committed to working with the commercial rights holder and the remaining members of FOTA to ensure that Formula One becomes financially sustainable,” read an FIA statement.

Should any teams decide to take up the FIA’s Cosworth offer, they have until next Thursday (December 11) to express their interest. Cosworth last participated in Formula One as suppliers to Williams and Toro Rosso in 2006.

The latest letter (in PDF) starts as follows

Gentlemen

Further to my letter of 18 November (copy attached for convenience), we have completed the tendering process and are now in exclusive negotiations with Cosworth together with Xtrac and Ricardo Transmissions (XR) to supply a complete Formula One power train starting in 2010. The engine will be a current Formula One engine while the transmission will be state-of-the-art Formula One and a joint effort by two companies which already supply transmissions to most of the grid.

The cost to each team taking up this option will be an up-front payment of ?1.68M (€1.97M) and then ?5.49M (€6.42M) per season for each of the three years of the supply contract (2010, 2011, 2012). This price is based on four teams signing up and includes full technical support at all races and official tests, plus 30,000 km of testing. The annual cost will reduce if more teams take up the option, for example to ?4.99M (€5.84M) per team with eight teams. It will further reduce if less than 30,000 km of testing is required. Neither engine nor transmission will be badged.

...

.more B.S./b>

source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/12/8756.html

WELL THEN:rofl:fl:

Honda left at the right time! Ferrari is next, followed by McLaren Mercedes, etc. The F1 is turning into a POS, first they leave North America, now they're actually going to have standard engines for everyone for the sake of lowering costs.

The F1 was all about investing in making the greatest and fastest engines with the best drivers they can find behind the wheel. Costs costs costs, it's always about money isn't it?!

[Elessar]

I'm just curious to see what F1 is like in a year or two...where will the drivers go? The next largest premier motorsport is NASCAR, and i could see some trying to make the transition...but others i could see trying IRL, V8s, etc...should be interesting to see how it plays out.

[Mike]

it isn't standard engines for everyone, its just an option if they want to because making your own engine can be more costly. Engines have also been at the same power level for a few years so nothing is really changing, they are just having the option for teams on smaller budgets to use an external party for their engines instead of larger teams (Toro Rosso using Ferrari engines, Red Bull using Renault engines, Force India now using McLaren engines).

[revvo]

Did you read the full letter? Here are the options starting the 2010 season.

As suggested in my letter of 18 November, teams participating in the 2010 Championship would

then have three options:

- the above (use Cosworth's engine)

- the right to build an engine themselves, identical to the above, having been supplied with all the necessary technical information;

- the right to continue to use their existing engine, with the current ban on development and requirement for engine parity still in place (noting that the engine supplied will become the reference engine for output and other performance indicators and no engine will be permitted to exceed those indicators).

If you ask me, that's a standard put in place. This limits one's ability to innovate, because you're told THIS is how you're going to build your engine.

[Mike]

right so they have the *CHOICE* of using the cosworth, build a new engine to match it, or use their current engine. yup, thats what i said!

[HawkMan]

Standardize engines and F1 is ruined.

And they'd better be preared to lose all the big teams, like Ferrari allready announced. Ferrari, BMW, McLAren, They're there to promote their engineering, and then primarily the engine. With standardized engines they have no reason to be there.

Bah F1 is allready a joke with the silly reqgulations they are putting on the cars. F1 has gone from being a High risk sport of Engieering the ultimate car, driving developement of safety, and car technology forwards, to some silly regularized cart system where everything is decided and designed by someone else and the team only provide the car driver and paint scheme.

F1 is practically less than F3000 and cart racing by now, it's ridiculous, give us back Fromula ONE, the best damn cars each maker can make, let them be creative in adding in new technology to make their car as fast as possible.

On the other hand, if this goes through, then I bet Ferrari won't be the only team to join the earlier proposed F1 alternate. Someone shoudl start Formula ultimate, and make an ultimate track motor racing sport, where the drivers actually risk their lives when they get behind the wheel again, a sport that lives on the edge of technology and performance, not within a safe envelope.

Then I'l Just have to wait for E1 to finally arrive for fast edge of techology motor sport.

[revvo]

right so they have the *CHOICE* of using the cosworth, build a new engine to match it, or use their current engine. yup, thats what i said!

Not exactly. If they keep their current engines, further R&D on it can be made as long as it follows Cosworth specs. In other words, areas today that can be further pushed to reach more performance will be limited by these standards when improving their engines.

Besides, Cosworth F1 engines aren't great. Toro Rosso had them in 2006, now they're powered by Ferrari.

[Shibby]

So the only real purpose of being able to produce the same engine your self would be either for cheaper costs or "for sake of knowing it's built right".

Even then its sounds like even with your current engines you have to make sure they are within a threshold.

Just seems strange to me, you might as well bloody force everyone to use the same engine with cosworth doing the building.

While this may benefit the smaller new teams (hahah at this moment in time???)

Surely the smaller teams always could have brought similar engines from other teams?

Does anyone know the costs of using another team engine over the years???

Still, if a small can't afford to go the whole hog and go for the full spec engine on offer. Then it's worthless.

Hasn't Force India just changed gear box design after having the oldest design on the track?

While they may have a sugar daddy, any new future teams may not.

I'm a bit wary at the moment. Other areas need to be improved if they want to attract new teams or level the playing field.

Things such as testing and aero are pretty expensive stuff.

Side note, some teams must be pretty unhappy. Most have got their engines reliable, so if the new engines are cack, teams will be unhappy.