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F1 Made a Mistake by Including Hybrid Engines Says Peter Sauber

Published 11/03/2020, 7:28 AM EST

F1 has been trudging through a difficult phase right now; fans and pundits have been billing the sport as rather monotonous. What makes matters worse is that racers themselves don’t find the races as interesting anymore.

So what changed? What led the fast lanes to see the same Mercedes and Red Bull pairings on the podium, race after race? The doyens of the sport mention several reasons, but one that is common among all is the dawn of the hybrid engines in 2014.

Bernie Ecclestone, on his 90th birthday, highlighted this problem. He opened up about how he regretted letting it pass and how it was already too late when he wanted to take action against it.

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Peter Sauber in his interview with SPEEDWEEK.com echoed the same sentiment.

“The whole hybrid campaign. Renault actually instigated it, Mercedes had to go along with it, and today everyone would be happy if these engines didn’t exist in this form.

“These enormous costs, which will only partially go down with the upcoming budget cap, are the main problem,” remarked the Sauber boss.

Besides being partners with Alfa Romeo for almost two decades, his company flaunts half a century of experience in motorsports. With the heart of a die-hard fan and the experience of a veteran, Peter Sauber holds valuable opinions in F1.

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F1 looking at dark days ahead- Peter Sauber

In his interview, he further expressed his grief on Williams being taken over by a financial group and the actual family having to step back.

Sir Frank Williams had built the team with his blood and sweat. But he had to live to see it being taken over by white-collared execs. Peter’s grief saw him highlight the problem of unequal distribution of money in the sport.

“It hurts that a traditional team like Williams doesn’t go away but no longer belongs to the founding family.

“The main problem remains the distribution of funds, even after the reform. The smaller racing teams are still getting too little. In other series, for example in the USA, distribution is more fair,” exclaimed the pundit.

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The Former Alfa Romeo boss critiqued the F1 circus for being confused with its actions. And with the wounds of Honda’s exit in F1 still fresh, Peter Sauber couldn’t see brighter days in the near future.

“One always wanted to reduce the technology, lower the costs, balance the field. Usually after a change it got worse than before. If you wanted to do something cheaper, it got more expensive,” noted Peter.

Peter was confident that F1 will find its way out of this conundrum; however, the cost of the same is what was a cause of pain.

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He is not the only one to dread the possibility of not enough cars on the grid. But F1 presently assures that it is unlikely to face a scarcity of constructors. Hopefully, it stays so.

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Written by:

Indrasish Ganguly is an F1 author at Essentially Sports. An avid fan of the F1 championship, the Kolkata based writer admires Lewis Hamilton the most on the F1 grid. His interest in racing stems from his love for cars and speed.

F1 Made a Mistake by Including Hybrid Engines Says Peter Sauber

F1 looking at dark days ahead- Peter Sauber

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