Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Fernley backs fifth engine on Fridays

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Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley has backed a proposal to allow teams to use a fifth engine this season to see more running on a Friday.

2015’s regulations saw the number of power units each driver could use in a season cut from five to four, and as a result teams have been saving on mileage during Friday practice. While Force India has been pushing for costs to be cut in F1, Fernley told F1i he believes the sport is doing the right thing by trying to address the lack of running early in the year.

“I think the key thing is we don’t want to see the show not be able to deliver on Fridays,” Fernley said. “So if it takes that to do it then I think now is the right time to be looking at it, not at the end of the season.

“So I think it’s the right thing to look at. Like everything, it needs to be proposed and put through in a proper manner because the key element is the Fridays and making sure that we deliver value for the spectators at the end of the day.”

Asked if he was concerned about an increase in costs as a result, Fernley replied: “That’s part of the process!”

Sauber's Monisha Kaltenborn has warned against teams having an ulterior motive when asking for a fifth engine.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.