Alpine F1 “Can the FIA ​​understand the impact of improving PU reliability on performance?”[F1-Gate.com]

The Alpine F1 Team has raised questions about the performance impact of reliability updates during the F1 power unit freeze period.

F1 engine development was completely frozen. Engine suppliers will not be allowed to make performance-enhancing upgrades to F1 power units that will be used until the 2025 season, only changes that address reliability issues.

But how well can the FIA ​​handle these differences?

With a new car for 2022, the FIA ​​has been quite forgiving of teams with reliability updates. Bruno Famín, Renault F1 engine chief, said all the race teams had relatively big reliability issues, so that also makes sense, but the FIA’s controls will be stricter from this season onwards.

This is because there are parts of the engine where it is difficult to distinguish between performance and reliability.

“The issue is complex. We don’t know if there is a potential performance gain behind the reliability problem. The boundaries are not always perfectly clear,” Famín told Motorsport Italia.

Bruno Famin explains that if there is a problem with the water pump, it is very clear that it is a reliability problem.

“After all, a new water pump does not improve performance,” commented Bruno Famin.

“But if we have to change the material of the piston rings, the problem can change, because we can push the engine further and aim for better performance”.

“Where are the limits? It’s not so clear…”

Category: F1 / Alpine / F1 car / FIA