F1 set for electric only in the pit lane?

There's a very interesting story on Reuters featuring quotes from Williams chairman Adam Parr about the 2013 engine plans.

In light of recent comments from those who are against the move away from V8s towards a 'greener' engine, including Bernie Ecclestone and Luca di Montezemolo, Parr says that there is no going back on the direction of travel.

He also makes a point I've not heard before that with the 2013 engines, when the car is in the pit lane, it will be running on pure electric only, a very interesting step and quite a message, if you think about it.

Criticism of the 2013 plans centres around the lack of noise, but also the notion that it is an empty gesture, paying lip service to sustainability - a 'greenwash' in other words. Running on electric only when the car is in the pit lane, would be a big step for the sport.

Parr said the new engine would be turbocharged and turbo-compounded. The KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) will be four times as powerful.

"It will have one fan generating electricity to super-charge the engine, another fan to recover energy from the exhausts which will recharge a battery and then be usable," he said.

"You are going to have a powertrain generating well over 800hp from four cylinders. I think its going to sound fantastic. It's going to run on pure electric in the pitlane," said Parr.

"You've got cutting edge technology, I mean really the future of road cars, you're going to have a very powerful message about environmental performance and what technology can do. And the racing will be just as exciting, if not more.

"Formula One is ultimately defined by its technology and Formula One's constant reinvention of itself, whether it's on the chassis side or the engine side, is fundamental to the nature of the sport," he said.

"The people who don't want things to change are the people who for whatever reason feel they have an incumbent advantage by not changing things."

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