Why have turbo engines been banned?
The primary reason for the banning of turbo engines in Formula One was one of safety. By the mid 80’s a turbo Formula One engine had reached the 1000 horsepower figure, and despite pop off valves and other restrictions was still awesomely powerful. The banning of turbo engines did have the effect of slowing the cars down. There was also a perception that the new engine regulations for 3.5 litre naturally aspirated engines would encourage more manufacturers to join Formula One. This would seem to have been true as Renault and Lamborghini soon joined due to the new engine regulations, but at the cost of Porsche and BMW. The FIA also pushed this engine change in sports cars and it had the opposite effect. The new regulations would in time encourage a lot of organisations to look at Formula One. Tuners like John Judd and Brian Hart, small manufacturers like Subaru, Lamborghini and Yamaha, and the automotive giants like Ford and Mercedes-Benz. “In 1974 or 5, I remember putting together a fa
