| It was
announced by BMW that will not supply low-cost engines next year. Previously
Mercedes Benz had agreed to supply other teams than partners McLaren with
low cost engines. It
was stated by Mercedes Benz that a price would be US $10 million for the
season would be asked from teams. But BMW Motorsport Director Dr Mario
Theissen said that BMW will not be prepared to supply other teams than
Williams next year.
Theissen said: "We certainly won't do it next year, because we have to
increase resources, capacity and people. And that cannot be done in such a
short time. Also, the figure currently in circulation, of $10 million per
season, doesn't cover the costs, and we are not prepared to give engines
away below our own cost.
"I would expect engine costs to come down a bit next year due to the
one-engine rule, but the main impact [on costs] is testing. You have to do
some testing, even for a second team. The team has to have the chance to do
sufficient testing to adapt the car, and that takes a lot of engines - even
under the new one engine per GP rule.
"Simply put, the $10 million figure wouldn't even be sufficient to cover the
cost of engine parts." |
