F1 MORPHS AGAIN.(Motorsports)

Engine

The 3.0-liter V10 engines are gone, replaced by 2.4-liter V8s that should surpass 20,000 rpm. The idea is to reduce costs (though many Formula One engineers say it has had the opposite effect), cut speeds and increase safety.

The V8s are expected to have peak power outputs some 200 hp less than the old V10s, between 750 hp and 800 hp, and add three to five seconds to lap times (in testing, times have increased by about one second per lap; see preseason test comparison). Scuderia Toro Rosso will use a restricted V10 engine (a compromise allowed only for 2006 and intended to help lesser-funded teams), but it will have a 16,700-rpm rev limit that should hold output to approximately 750 hp. It is believed this will keep performance comparable with that of competitors' V8s.

Qualifying

One of the biggest and most anticipated changes affects qualifying. A shootout format replaces the almost universally criticized one-car, single-lap system. This is intended to shake up the grid as single-lap qualifying often did, yet bring back the excitement and gunslinger nature of the one-hour, 12-lap, fastest-man-standing system used until the end of 2002. Here's how the new knockout format works:

Part I

All 22 cars may run unlimited laps during the first 15 minutes of a one-hour session. Afterward the six slowest cars can no longer participate; they will make up the last six grid places according to their times.