



It has emerged that Ferrari may have to change the design of the turbo housing on the Ferrari 059/3 power unit after a query over its compliance with the technical regulations was raised. The rule in question was a late addition to the 2014 Formula 1 Technical Regulations which states:

5.18.5 Measures must be taken to ensure that in the event of failure of the turbine wheel any resulting significant debris is contained within the car.

Two of the three engine manufacturers have apparently taken one approach while Ferrari feels that it has met the regulation by a different method. In some reports Renault is set to complain about the design but Rob White of Renaultsport F1 claims this is not the case; “I don’t know anything about the Ferrari so I couldn’t be unhappy about it even if I wanted to be.” However he admits that he is aware of the situation “There is a technical regulation that requires us to contain the debris in the event of a turbine wheel failure and in addition there was a technical directive published on the subject regarding correspondence between Charlie Whiting and Ferrari, but there was nothing in it about what Ferrari was or wasn’t doing so I don’t know what it is. For us its a matter of both technical regulation compliance and assuring the safety of the turbo in operation.”

Racecar Engineering understands that while Renault and Mercedes interpreted 5.18.5 as meaning that the turbocharger needs an additional ballistic cover (which weighs around 3kg) Ferrari has not. Instead it has designed the turbine housing in such a way that if the turbine wheel fails the turbo housing itself contains any debris. Whilst not a breach of the regulations it is thought that not everyone in the F1 engine community is convinced about this approach, and there are some that feel that the minimum weight of the cars needs to be raised by around 4kg to allow for the installation of ballistic covers. Ferrari apparently is not keen on this.