Reliability vs Horsepower by Chua Kee Peow
Once again, the Formula One season has started.
When the curtain came down last season, we saw Michael Schumacher ended the season on a high by capturing the checkered flag. On top of that, the Ferrari constructor team won the best constructor accolade. It seemed that the red team could do no wrong. Perhaps Lady Luck was smiling on the team with the prancing horse.
In that long, arduous season, we've seen how the McLaren Mercedes engines managed to overtake the Ferraris on many occasions with some ease; there were also times when Mika's car suffered from reliability problems and was forced to retire. This rekindled the long unsolved problem in the world of Formula One racing: reliability of the engine.
So far this season, the steeds of Schumacher and Barrichello have performed up reliably in the first two races. However, the same cannot be said of the McLaren team. Mika failed to finish in Australia (which seems to be a perennial affair) and Coulthard could not hold on to his lead for more than 5 laps before being overtaken.
Looks like the Ferrari engine has definitely gone through some redesigning to achieve more power and not sacrificing too much reliability. The season before showed clearly that the McLarens had powerful engines but it was the stable and reliable ones that prevailed.
Is this a reliable car?
Is this your dream car?
I was quite amused when the commentators for last weekend's Grand Prix in Malaysia spoke of how Honda claimed that their engines would prevail in that race due to their reliability. However, the Honda cars, together with most of the cars, were dropping like flies at Sepang. Most of the cars exhibited the lots of horsepower but they eventually failed the reliability test in the highly volatile environment of the Sepang circuit.
Therefore,
the age-old question remains: which is more important, reliability or
horsepower? Of course, the best of both factors would be desired by all
of us, but if I were asked to choose one, I would definitely go for reliability.
I would not want a car which is fast but keeps breaking down.
So, anyone game for a race?
Note:
This previously unpublished article was written for the Aspire
website column, The Huddle, between 2001-2002.