24/05/2013
NEWS STORY
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Bernie Ecclestone, who has made no secret of his dislike of the 2014 engine formula, fears at least one of the manufacturers will take a massive (financial) hit over the next couple of years.
There are all manner of things about the new formula that Ecclestone doesn't like, the F1 supremo even managing to stall its introduction for a further season at one stage.
Now however, he believes that if one particular manufacturer gets it right and starts to dominate, rivals will find themselves having to spend even more in their attempt to catch up, a move that could ultimately drive them away.
"The danger is if one of those three get it wrong, whoever they are, it's going to cost a fortune to catch up," he told Reuters. "And as they are catching up, the other people are going forward.
"At the moment, everything's fine," he continued. "There's very little anyone can do now. The danger is all three (Mercedes (above), Renault and Ferrari) think they've got the right engine. When reality sets in, then it will be too late."
Just days after Honda announced its return to F1, albeit in 2015, Ecclestone is due to meet Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn, the costs of the new powerplants likely to figure heavily on the agenda.
While Ecclestone mainly cites the sound of the engines as the chief bugbear - he managed to get the FIA to drop its plan for electric power in the pitlane - he also fears the huge costs involved, especially when the current formula seems fine. On the other hand, it is the challenge of the new turbo engine, and its green credentials, that interests the manufacturers.
"Some costs are costs," he said. "There is nothing you can do about it. But this is unnecessary cost because what we had was perfect. What's going on now, everybody's happy with, happy with the noise, happy with the costs, happy with everything.
"They could produce these (current) engines and still make a profit at 25 percent less than they are going to charge for these other engines," he added, referring to growing fears from the teams that their engine supply spending could see a return to the 'bad old days' before the FIA stepped in and effectively capped engine costs.