Two for the Road is a hangout for mystery writers Tammy Kaehler and Simon Wood to chat, reminisce, gossip, speculate and argue about all things motorsport.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A New Era? I Hope So


 
By Simon

Tammy’s favorite billionaire Bernie Ecclestone said that Seb Vettel’s F1 dominance is bad for the sport (and probably Bernie’s bank balance).  I’m actually a Vettel fan (although his little breakdown last month’s complaining it wasn’t fair cars were getting in his way was painfully childish) but I get what Bernie is saying. Vettel and Red Bull’s dominance is great for them but not so much for everyone else—especially spectators.  It’s McLaren of the late 80’s all over again.  However Bernie might get his wish with the changes for 2014.  

Essentially the new engine format (tiny turbo charged V6s) means everyone has to design a car from the ground up to accommodate it.  No doubt that Adrian Newey will come up with something amazing, as will McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, etc., but the game changer is the engine.  Who knows whether Renault, Honda, Ferrari, Mercedes can come up with a winning engine in such a short development period.  It could and probably will be a very unpredictable for a season or two.  If Renault doesn’t give Red Bull the engine they need, it’ll be interesting to see how much of Seb Vettel’s success is his driving or Adrian Newey’s genius.  Either way, 2014 will be a very interesting season.

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