Q: With the recent rumors that F1 owners Liberty Media wants to buy the NTT IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and turn it into a feeder series for F1 (which has been denied) I have a question. Is Liberty Media using these rumors to bring F1 back to Indianapolis? (If that happens it would be the fourth F1 Grand Prix in the U.S. after Miami Austin & Las Vegas)?
Kurt Perleberg
MP: Bearing in mind that Liberty wouldn’t be able to bring F1 back to Indy unless Roger Penske wanted it to happen and the FIA approved it, I’m not sure I can connect the dots you’re seeing here.
With two dynamic races at Miami and COTA, and another one on the way in Las Vegas, I can’t think of any reason to host F1 at Indy, unless F1 wanted to have a failure on its hands. When it was the only American stop for F1, sure, there was plenty of demand. As a fourth stop at a former track that ended with unpleasant memories? That would be a waste.
Q: After yet another solidly entertaining race on a circuit designed for motorcycles with a notable absence of heavy braking zones, it got me thinking. We generally understand that tracks that produce good racing are ones with tight corners leading onto a long straight into a heavy braking zone. But I theorize that it’s not necessarily ample passing opportunities that make for an entertaining circuit, but rather a layout that encourages hard racing.
Tracks like Barber and Mid-Ohio prove this. There’s nothing quite like watching drivers get their elbows out and be forceful with their moves, knowing that high percentage chances to make a pass are limited. Corner after corner of side-by-side racing until someone either backs off or gets run off. I’m thinking the hairpin at Barber or Turns 4, 5, and 6 at Mid-Ohio.
Circuits with multiple long straights into hairpins either make the racing lackluster with drivers just biding their time to slipstream and make an easy pass, or it becomes a crash fest every time they dive into the braking zone. It’s a shame so many modern F1 circuits focus more on the ability to pass rather than encouraging harder racing, even if it means more limitations on overtaking.
Here’s to the tracks where aggressive, forceful racing is king.
Michael, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
MP: Amen, Michael.
Q: I heard an interview with Will Power on the Barber Peacock practice/ qualifying broadcast concerning the engine being at the end of its life and needing a changeout. It brought a few questions to mind concerning procedures and rules concerning engine leases. 1) How long under the current rules does an IndyCar engine now have to last? I remember grid penalties at one point when an engine was changed early. I don’t think this is the case currently? What is the penalty now? 2) When the team receives a new engine to install, when does this occur? At the race shop before a weekend? At the track? 3) When the race weekend is over, does the engine stay in the car and go with the team to the shop, or is it removed and the manufacturer takes it with for service?
Darryl, Bernville , PA
MP: Once upon a time, IndyCar set specific mileage requirements per engine. That went away a few years ago; it’s four engines for the season and a total of 10,000 miles needing to be achieved however the manufacturer wants, so one could go 2400, another 2600, etc. Teams receive fresh engines wherever they’re needed — shop or track. All depends on timing. Post-race engine changes aren’t uncommon, provided the schedule doesn’t require the trucks to be loaded immediately and sent off to a test, cross-country drive to the next event, and so on.
Q: There were a few reports about teams/drivers getting to the engine replacement mileage (2400 miles?) as we get through the first quarter of the season. I recall there are four engines allowed per car. That brings to mind a few questions.
First, does the mileage number that triggers the ability to swap in a new engine include the official test days like the two scheduled at Indy two weeks ago? If so, I could see why the teams were not too disappointed day two was rained out from an engine use point of view.
Second, can teams who are already using engine two – Scott Dixon for example – install engine three for race day at the 500 before engine two reaches the replacement mileage?
Finally, can teams use engines surpassing the replacement mileage (engine one for example) in early practice sessions at a race weekend? I see there are opportunities when there is only one session on Friday of a three-day weekend, which would allow plenty of time to swap to the race engine.
Also, I am curious about the HP difference between an engine at its mileage limit and a fresh unit. Will Power implied it is a noticeable amount last weekend at Barber. I remember reading in The Unfair Advantage that Mark Donahue would swap in a pair of new heads in his Trans-Am Camaro to gain some extra HP on raceday. Installing a fresh engine would be that Unfair Advantage…
Glenn, Renton, WA
MP: Mileage is mileage. The components in the engines have a finite lifespan, so yes, testing certainly counts because once the 2.2L motors start getting close to a changeout for rebuild, that’s where the reliability concerns arise.
The Indy 500 engine rules for full-time entries is unique in that teams are allowed to install fresh motors for the 500, but yes, the Dixon Engine 2 scenario comes into play because that motor will need to go back in the car at some point and be used until it’s ready for rebuild.
Teams and manufacturers tend to game plan the mileage/change schedule in advance, so rather than force one between sessions, it will tend to happen at the end of the day, if not before the event.
High-mileage motors tend to be like a worn pair of shoes that still work just fine, but aren’t as crisp as they were when new. The power losses are negligible, but in a series like IndyCar where folks are fighting over a millionth of a second, you don’t want to give up half a horsepower.