Korean GP on 2015 - farcical
Discussion
The Korean GP was added to the calendar for 2015 yesterday
The BBC said:
Its addition to the calendar on Wednesday caught the teams by surprise, but they were quick to point out that its date - just a week before the Spanish Grand Prix, producing some almost impossible logistics - meant something must be up.
Insiders say the explanation is simple.
Next year, the rules say that the number of engines drivers can use in a season is to be cut from five to four. But that presupposes there are no more than 20 races.
The rules say each driver will be allowed five engines "if the number of events in the championship, as originally scheduled, exceeds 20".
The key phrase being "as originally scheduled".
The calendar announced on Wednesday is the "confirmed" schedule. Yet one of the 21 races on it - Korea - is "to be confirmed".
So, now the Korean Grand Prix is on the calendar, teams can use five engines again in 2015. And that does not change even if the race drops off at a later date.
Meanwhile, at least one engine manufacturer has been pushing to keep the limit on engines at five for next season, because of the complexity of the engines, reliability problems suffered in 2014 and the need of Mercedes' rivals to push development to try to close the gap to the new world champions.
Putting a fantasy race on the calendar, that no-one believes will happen, only to withdraw it at a later date is a painless way of ensuring this happens without the usual arguments over rules, a cynic would say.
Knowing all that, do you think there will be a Korean Grand Prix next year?
Why not just change the rules, rather than perform a charade in order to bend them?Insiders say the explanation is simple.
Next year, the rules say that the number of engines drivers can use in a season is to be cut from five to four. But that presupposes there are no more than 20 races.
The rules say each driver will be allowed five engines "if the number of events in the championship, as originally scheduled, exceeds 20".
The key phrase being "as originally scheduled".
The calendar announced on Wednesday is the "confirmed" schedule. Yet one of the 21 races on it - Korea - is "to be confirmed".
So, now the Korean Grand Prix is on the calendar, teams can use five engines again in 2015. And that does not change even if the race drops off at a later date.
Meanwhile, at least one engine manufacturer has been pushing to keep the limit on engines at five for next season, because of the complexity of the engines, reliability problems suffered in 2014 and the need of Mercedes' rivals to push development to try to close the gap to the new world champions.
Putting a fantasy race on the calendar, that no-one believes will happen, only to withdraw it at a later date is a painless way of ensuring this happens without the usual arguments over rules, a cynic would say.
Knowing all that, do you think there will be a Korean Grand Prix next year?
MartinQ said:
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