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In Reply to: Mercedes / BMW rivalry posted by Gwynne Spencer on March 12, 2000 at 15:22:37:
: Chalk up a big victory for BMW in the first Formula 1 race of the season. BOTH the MB engines in the McLaren cars blew up (valve train problems) before lap 20 (58 lap race) - this after having to change engines in both cars due to engine problems in practice on Saturday! The BMW engines performed well above expectations, considering this is their 1st race vs the 5 years or more that the MB engines have had to work out the bugs. 20 year old rookie Jenson Button's BMW engine failed on lap 47 while he was lying in 5th or 6th place (don't remember exactly), but Ralph Schumacher, driving the other Williams/BMW, went on to finish 3rd over all behind the 2 Ferraris of Michael Schumacher (1st) and Ruebens Barrichelo (2nd).
: To those of you unfamiliar with Formula 1 engines, they are 3 liter, 10 cylinder, unsupercharged, turning out about 800 HP at 18,000 RPM ! The Ferrari engine weighs in at just 214 lb, and the BMW engine about 20 lbs heavier. This weight is expected to come down as the engine is further developed.
: Gwynne Spencer
Yes, it was a great showing for BMW! But Button never got close to 5th or 6th. I just got through watching the race and the highest he ever got was 10th or 11th before the engine blew.
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