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alianoralacanta · 3 months ago

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Everything You Never Needed To Know About The Two Race Engine Rule (24-10-2007)

Context: Once upon a time, a driver could use three engines in the same day and simply risk a DNQ for not meeting the 107% rule. (Damon Hill, France 1999 qualifying day. Turns out that if one wishes to set a good time, one's has to do sufficient speedy laps on the track and not on stands in the garage). Then it was decided that was too wasteful and teams were banned from swapping engines between qualifying and the race. This was followed in 2005 with a requirement to use engines for two consecutive races before replacement, unless a race was not finished. In 2008, the requirement increased to 3 consecutive races on a single engine. I received a request to provide some statistics about the two-race engine era. Nowadays, each engine must last an average of 6 races, but teams can arrange that running how they want. A driver who wanted to do the first 3 and last 3 races on the same engine, but not any of the ones in between, is nowadays permitted to do so.

Thanks to neil for coming up with the idea for this entry, and especially to concentrate on the successes. To celebrate the fact that the two-race engine rule is now consigned to history, I will be doing some analysis of how the engine rules have influenced the grid.

Three seasons of careful management, impressive calculation and inopportune explosions will be celebrated in what I think is the most fitting way possible… …a ream of annotated statistics.

Victories Against The Odds

It has been mentioned in Autosport (March 23 2006 edition) that a new engine is worth 10-15hp over a used engine. Therefore, to win with a used engine suggests that the driver didn't have everything in their favour. And we all love drivers who win against the odds, don't we?

The following wins were achieved with a used engine:

2005

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Malaysia 2005 (the first time used engines appeared in a Grand Prix weekend was also the first time they won!) Fernando Alonso, Renault, San Marino 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Monaco 2005 Fernando Alonso, Renault, France 2005 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Germany 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Turkey 2005 (the start of a three-race chain) Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren, Italy 2005 (the first time both drivers in the same team win at least one race with used engines - and consecutive ones to boot!) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Belgium 2005 (this chain of three events, ending with this race, is the first time used engines win more than one race consecutively) Fernando Alonso, Renault, Brazil 2005

2005 used engine win total - 9 2005 new engine win total - 10

2006

Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, Europe 2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Spain 2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Britain 2006 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, USA 2006 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, Germany 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Turkey 2006 (first race to be won by someone with a used engine in two consecutive years) Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, Italy 2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Japan 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Brazil 2006

2006 used engine win total - 9 2006 new engine win total - 9

2007

Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Malaysia 2007 (first driver to have won the same event with used engines twice) Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Spain 2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Canada 2007 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, France 2007 Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Germany 2007 (second driver to have won the same event with used engines twice) Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Hungary 2007 Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Belgium 2007 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Japan 2007

2007 used engine win total - 8 2007 new engine win total - 9

Grand total Used engines 25 v 29 New engines

Masters of Used Engines - Drivers

Fernando Alonso (11) Kimi Raikkonen (5) Felipe Massa (4) Michael Schumacher (3) Juan Pablo Montoya (1) Lewis Hamilton (1)

Fernando clearly takes the crown of Master of Used Engines. Admittedly, being in a championship-challenging car for three years in a row does help a little. That said, he is Master or Joint Master of Used Engines in each individual year as well (he shares with Michael Schumacher in 2006, and is the outright winner in both 2005 and 2007). This is quite a statement of skill.

Kimi Raikkonen would probably have done better had his engine been reasonably reliable in 2005 or 2006. Or indeed if he'd ever been on the top step of the podium in 2006. However, he plainly does not require a fresh engine to demonstrate his talent.

Felipe Massa is consistent, having two used-engine victories in both 2006 and 2007 (being in a non-victorious Sauber didn't help his 2005 rating much). Don't be surprised if he shows well in 2008's three-race engine environment.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Lewis Hamilton, in a sense, represent past and future. Juan Pablo used to be an exciting F1 driver. He's still exciting, but he's doing NASCAR now, where they don't mess about with multi-race engines as far as I'm aware. Since he's also refused to return to F1, don't expect him to add to this tally in any series.

If Lewis Hamilton doesn't add any used engine victories in the three-race engine era, then I'm an apple tree. The main reason why he's only had one win in this era is because he didn't compete in 2005 or 2006.

Two drivers have won a race with a new engine in this era without winning one with a used engine: Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button. Jenson is not in the used engine winner list largely because his engine blew in free practise on the Saturday of Hungary 2006. Had it held on, he would a) have had an easier time of winning that race and b) be on the list.

Masters of Used Engines - Teams

Renault (8) McLaren (7) Ferrari (7)

The Masters of Used Engines team award has been hotly contested between three great teams - so hotly that no other team has a single used-engine victory to its credit.

Renault's position in the list is particularly remarkable, since only one driver contributed every single used-engine win to its effort. McLaren and Ferrari required three drivers to achieve their results.

All three of these teams won in two out of the three years the rule was in place.

Poles for Used Engines

Wins with an engine that is minus 10-15bhp are challenging, but what about carving perfect laps with imperfect engines? Surely that's got to be pretty tough.

2005

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Malaysia 2005 (again, first pole at first attempt for used engines) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, San Marino 2005 (first time a pole-sitting used-engine user didn't win the race pole was obtained in - that comes later for Kimi) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Monaco 2005 (start of a three-race chain) Nick Heidfeld, Williams, Europe 2005 (first time a used engine is taken to pole by a driver who doesn't win a race with a used engine during the two-engined era) Jarno Trulli, Toyota, Canada 2005 (this three-race chain, ending this race, is the first time a used engine is on pole on consecutive occasions) Fernando Alonso, Renault, France 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Turkey 2005 Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren, Belgium 2005

2005 used engine poles: 8 2005 new engine poles: 11

2006

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Monaco 2006 (first race where pole was obtained by someone with a used engine in two consecutive years) Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, USA 2006 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Germany 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Turkey 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Brazil 2006

2006 used engine poles: 5 2006 new engine poles: 13

2007

Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Malaysia 2007 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Spain 2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Canada 2007 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, France 2007 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Germany 2007 (first driver to take pole with a used engine at the same race twice) Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Turkey 2007 (second driver to take pole with a used engine at the same race twice) Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Belgium 2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, China 2007

2007 used engine poles: 8 2007 new engine poles: 9

Grand total Used engines 21 v 33 new engines

Clearly new engines are a more significant factor in qualifying than in the race. This was especially the case in 2006, where developments were being completed quickly in anticipation of the 2007 engine homologation rules. Notice that in 2007, new and used engines are more evenly matched in qualifying.

Kings of Used Engine Speed - Drivers

Felipe Massa (6) Kimi Raikonnen (5) Fernando Alonso (4) Lewis Hamilton (2) Nick Heidfeld (1) Jarno Trulli (1) Juan Pablo Montoya (1) Michael Schumacher (1)

There is a lot more competition for this contest than the Master of Used Engines award. The winner of the award is Felipe Massa. He appears to be an expert at teasing speed out of a used engine when qualifying comes around. He was better at it than Michael Schumacher in 2006, and he has held his own in 2007. Very impressive, especially in this era when the pole-sitter often goes on to win.

Kimi Raikkonen's moments of brilliance are more spread out, but you can count on there being at least one in each season. Unfortunately, the poles rarely led to victories (his used-engine victories tended to be born in the adversity of second-row starts - or worse).

Fernando Alonso is a much better racer than he is a qualifier. That said, he won the world championship in 2006 without getting one pole with a used engine, so maybe there's a lesson in that for his rivals…

Lewis Hamilton is, in theory, a better qualifier than racer on used engines. That said, with such a small sample it's difficult to tell.

Michael Schumacher seemed to need a new engine in order to get pole. That didn't stop him from being at the sharp end of the grid a lot of the time, though.

Nick Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli never won a race in the two-engine era despite both getting poles with used engines - surely indicating that both qualify better than they race. While this probably isn't news to Trulli observers, those who observe Heidfeld tend not to mention this when writing about him.

Juan Pablo Montoya's single pole with a used engine is probably because he got most of his poles before the rule was introduced. Qualifying used to be a speciality of his.

Kings of Used Engine Speed - Teams

Ferrari (10) McLaren (7) Renault (3) Williams (1) Toyota (1)

The titans in the 2007 championship fight are the ones that are at the head of this list. That said, the clear Masters of Used Engine Speed are Ferrari, largely because Felipe Massa has driven so many pole laps for them. It's almost as if he needs a used engine before he fully lets himself go. That said, Kimi Raikkonen has also found the Ferrari environment conducive to his natural abilities. Even Michael managed to get pole with a used engine once…

McLaren despite having had four drivers help them get their total, are definitely behind Ferrari. This is largely because none of their drivers got consistent poles in the first place (they kept getting let down by their machinery, then polemeisters Massa and Raikkonen got together at the red team).

Renault can credit their entire presence on this list to Fernando Alonso. Williams and Toyota likewise only had one driver contribute to their totals.

The "It'll Be All Right On The Night" Award for Reliability - Engine Suppliers

BMW (1.67/car/year, 5 total) <1 in Williams; 3 + 1 in BMW Sauber> Renault (1.75/car/year, 7 total) <2 + 2 + 2 in Renault; 1 in Red Bull> Ferrari (3.43/car/year, 24 total) <4 + 8 + 1 in Ferrari; 3 in Sauber; 3 in Red Bull; 0 in Toro Rosso; 5 in Spyker> Toyota (3.5/car/year, 21 total) <1 + 8 + 0 in Toyota; 5 + 3 in Jordan/Midland/Spyker; 4 in Williams> Mercedes (3.67/car/year, 11 total) <8 + 2 + 1 in McLaren> Cosworth (3.75/car/year, 15 total) <1 in Red Bull; 2 + 4 in Minardi/Toro Rosso; 8 in Williams> Honda (4,25/car/year, 21 total) <5 + 8 + 3 in BAR/Honda; 2 + 3 in Super Aguri>

The BMW engines are most likely to be "all right on the night", with Renault closely following. This is a significant factor into both team's successes during the two-engine era - BMW's improvement was helped because it could chase up pesky gearboxes and speed instead of engines. Renault's tendency to stay in one piece helped Fernando Alonso's championship campaigns considerably. Renault is statistically the best engine on offer to customers - lucky Red Bull for having that supply!

There is a large gap to the next engine supplier, then you reach Ferrari. In its own cars the engines have worked quite unreliably until the homologation rules kicked in. That said, three of the eight failures in the works team happened to Felipe Massa during the Malaysian GP weekend, which reduced the pain somewhat. For that matter, apart from Spyker, all its customers got more reliable units than the works team. Maybe the customer engines were slower, but at least the teams could depend on Ferrari to clear out some of the bugs that appear to be inherent in Ferrari engine design.

Toyota is slightly worse than Ferrari, much of which can be attributed to an atrocious run of unreliability in 2006. In general, the customer units do not appear to have had many of the reliability flaws removed - not a good sign, since this means progress is relatively slow.

For all Mercedes developed a lousy reputation for reliability, this would appear to only be justified for 2005. However, eight failures in a year when no other works team had half that many said a lot. Since then, it is clear that lots of effort has been made to send out working units to the drivers, which has been particularly helpful in 2007.

Cosworth was the customer of last resort, which may go some way towards explaining its poor record. Integration into teams was not very high, simply because teams expected to be using another engine as soon as possible and therefore didn't work so well with the engine supplier. Though it is true that lack of money didn't help.

Honda should be embarrassed. Clearly it can send a reasonably reliable unit to customers (as Super Aguri can happily testify), so why can't it send something functional to its own works drivers? No wonder Button and Barrichello look like pulling their hair out at times…

The "It'll Be All Right On The Night" Award for Reliability - Teams

Red Bull (5) Super Aguri (5, across two seasons only) Renault (6) Minardi/Toro Rosso (6) (BMW) Sauber (7) Toyota (9) McLaren (11) Williams (13) Jordan/Midland/Spyker (13) Ferrari (13) BAR/Honda (16)

For the most part, customer teams had more reliable engines than their works providers. The exceptions are Williams and Spyker, who have chopped and changed a lot. Integration, or lack of same, explains their woes quite eloquently.

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