FEBRUARY 3, 2006

Rules and luck

Midland F1 MD Colin Kolles says that Scuderia Toro Rosso will break Formula 1 rules if it uses restricted Cosworth V10 engines in 2006. Kolles has obviously not read the rules because Article 5.2 of the 2006 F1 Technical Regulations clearly states that "For 2006 and 2007 only, the FIA reserves the right to allow any team to use an engine complying with the 2005 engine regulations, provided its maximum crankshaft rotational speed does not exceed a limit fixed from time to time by the FIA so as to ensure that such an engine will only be used by a team which does not have access to a competitive 2.4 litre V8 engine."

This makes it very clear that 2005 V10s can be used with a rev limit.

There is a loophole in that when the decision to build the 2006 car was taken Minardi was still owned by Paul Stoddart and did not have the cash to build a new car but has since been taken over by Red Bull which does have the money to do the job properly. Scuderia Toro Rosso will have trouble arguing the case for 2007 but for 2006 it has a perfect right to run the rev-limited V10 engines. The FIA also has a perfect right to change the rev limit.

Thus it is not a question of rules being broken.