The 2004 Formula One championship season has seen the introduction of several rule changes already with more planned for the coming years, and one of the most serious challenges seen since the curtain was raised on the season opening Australian Grand Prix was the one engine per GP weekend rule in order to cut the ever increasing costs involved.
These changes presented engineers with a serious challenge, a challenge most have mastered quite. In fact, BMW is right on schedule according to BMW Motorsport Director Theissen and of the three targets they set themselves for 2004, two of have already been achieved.
"We had three targets for this year,” said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “The first target was to have a reliable 800km engine for the first race and that was achieved by Melbourne. The second target was to raise race power, to make maximum power available in the race itself because this year the second 400km of engine life is most important, so it was our priority to make sure we had full power available in the race, and that was achieved by Imola. Since then we have been able to run at maximum engine speed even in top gear, which is an advantage on the straights. Now, our third target, which we are working on, is continuous improvement in power and reliability."
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