Formula One: Brawn Bemoans Luck As Engine Fails

Ferrari's engineers remained tight-lipped last night about what might have caused Michael Schumacher's engine failure. Seasoned observers speculated the cloud of blue smoke signalled a piston failure or some other breakage at the top of the engine, but how the failure was triggered will probably take days of detailed analysis to establish beyond reasonable doubt.

Earlier in the season the Italian cars suffered from piston problems which required them briefly to race at slightly reduced revs before redesigned components were manufactured and fitted. Since then, however, the Ferrari V8s have raced with total reliability.

It is possible the Ferrari sustained some sort of damage from running over debris left on the circuit when Christijan Albers's Spyker (formerly Midland) suffered a spectacular driveshaft failure approaching the pits chicane on lap 21. The Dutchman's stricken car limped into the pits minus its rear wing and right rear wheel, leaving the track covered with debris including the wayward driveshaft and shards of razor-sharp carbon fibre. Many people voiced surprise that the safety car was not deployed while this mess was cleared up, an action which would have seen Schumacher's 5.5sec lead over Fernando Alonso evaporate at a stroke.

It would have certainly been possible for this debris to have damaged a water radiator on the Ferrari but the onset of overheating would have been gradual and Schumacher would have quickly picked it up. In fact, he reported that he had no warning at all before the engine failed.

Modern formula one engines run on wafer-thin performance margins, operating at high temperatures of around 125C with as small radiators as possible in the interests of aerodynamic efficiency. They do not have fans, relying instead on the through-flow of cooling air when the car is running at high speed. Therefore, when the cars are stationary during a refuelling stop there is no cooling effect, and there is obvious pressure to get the car back in the race before it begins to overheat.

Schumacher's engine failure occurred a lap and a half after his final scheduled pit stop, although there was no suggestion the Ferrari had been stationary for a dangerously long time. The engine concerned was in the second race of a two-race cycle, having powered Schumacher to victory in the Chinese grand prix the previous week. It had an easy time there as that race was held in wet conditions and the V8 was relatively lightly stressed as a consequence.

Afterwards a downcast Ferrari technical director, Ross Brawn, confirmed the team were unclear what had caused Schumacher's engine failure, pointing out it was not the only mishap to have befallen them in the race. "Obviously we're very disappointed," he said. "It was a much tougher race than perhaps we expected but Michael still had the situation under control. With Felipe [Massa], we had to anticipate his first pit-stop because of a puncture so his race got compromised - so things didn't quite work out today.

"I guess we're in this position for all sorts of reasons," Brawn added. "We did not have a great start to the season. And Fernando [Alonso] had an engine failure at Monza, so it's up and down."