The V10 engine rule debate rumbles on
Colin Kolles has questioned the legality of team rival Scuderia Toro Rosso`s intention to use V10 engines in 2006.
The team principal, whose MF1 squad is likely to be a main rival of the former Minardi team, says that since Red Bull took over, STR`s justification for needing the low-cost option no longer exists.

Midland-owned MF1 Racing will run a 2.4 litre Toyota V8 in 2006, while Toro Rosso plug ahead with the limited V10 option that was organised by the departed Paul Stoddart.

"(The option) was accepted due to a financial reason for Minardi," Kolles said, "and this is not the case any more."

He stopped short of threatening legal action to force STR to use a V8 like the rest of the field, but said the Faenza based team would `have a problem` if their racer turned out quicker than the M16.

Kolles insisted: "It is in the hands of the FIA."

Equivalency rules, certainly in F1, have always been murky and debatable. After all, STR`s new car might simply be better than the Midland, irrespective or whether the engine packs more power.

But apart from that, running a V8 in 2006 means that - financially - Midland must cope with a bigger engine bill than Toro Rosso.

It is also significant that the V10 option is not actually mentioned in the technical regulations in 2006 - it is a separate agreement forged to help Stoddart`s team survive.

Moreover, Toyota engine technical director Luca Marmorini told Gazzetta dello Sport that Ferrari`s way of simulating V8 power with a V10 on the test tracks is more effective - engine mapping.

MF1`s Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro, meanwhile, makes it clear that - debate aside - he is unhappy about F1`s shift to V8s.

"Personally, I don`t like it at all," he stated. "Going from V10 to V8 motors in Formula One is - in my opinion - a big backwards step for us."

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