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Should Formula 1 ban engineers?

Formula 1 is the pursuit of motor-racing excellence, and engineers play a part in that. Banning them would create the sort of unpredictability F1 fans crave - but is there a middle-ground that can be made to work?

Kevin Turner May 22, 2017, 10:06 AM

A Formula 1 engineer recently suggested, in jest, that the pinnacle of motorsport should ban engineers. This was too good an opportunity to miss, so Autosport pressed the point and asked a few more questions to see just what the benefits - and drawbacks - would be.

The first question, of course, is why? What would the advantage of banning engineers be?

"A lot of what the 'good old days' had that we 'lack' in modern F1 is unpredictability, largely due to unreliability, or just errors, such as people running out of fuel," says the source, who perhaps unsurprisingly wishes to remain anonymous.

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Author Kevin Turner

Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Warboys with his wife and two children.