Theissen: Engine rules have cost us money.

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen continues to insist that the call for longer-life engines has pushed up the cost of competing in Formula One, rather than reducing it as anticipated.

While many will look at the rule change stipulating that engines must now last a minimum of two race meetings instead of one as a long-term cost-cutting plan, Theissen used the launch of the latest Williams to reinforce his point.

"In principle, we support cost-cutting measures, but this was a radical - and late - change to the rules, which has caused significant extra development costs, rather than save money," he concluded.

BMW has had to ensure that the latest P84/5 V10 lasts for at least 1500km, while spanning a variety of different roles, including practice, qualifying and racing, all of which make their own specific demands on engine performance.

In order to prepare for the demanding new rules, BMW has concentrated on engine unit stability, minimising performance losses and making good any identified performance losses during the season development process.

"The critical components are the moving parts that endure a high mechanical and thermal load, particularly the crankshaft drive and valve gear," Theissen revealed, "Each of these has been redesigned for a double-life span, which normally means a bigger and heavier engine, costing speed and power. We have been meticulous to try and minimise these losses."

According to Theissen, the new rules will also have an effect on what the spectators get to see over the course of a race weekend

"Now there is a tactical need to save engine life as far as possible," he explained, "We have two options, by running for fewer laps or decreasing engine speed. The first option is not desirable so, during free practice, when the team is undertaking setup work and selecting tyres, we will limit the maximum engine speed."

Engines, however, will also have to deliver maximum power for the qualifying session and, after each odd-numbered round, will still have to endure another full grand prix weekend before they can be replaced - unless teams play to one possible loophole in the rules...

"The penalty for an engine fault will be considerably tougher than for any other component," Theissen reflected, considering the ten-place penalty to be imposed twice for any ill-timed engine change, "Replacing the engine before first qualifying will result in a ten-place demotion on the grid and, after qualifying, it is demotion to the back of the grid. Only if the driver fails to finish the race can the engine be replaced without penalty, so the environment will be very demanding in 2005."

"There is a question mark in the new rules, however, as a driver may deliberately fail to finish a race in order to have the advantage of a new engine for the next GP."