MOTORSPORT: F1 may go back to turbocharged four-pots in 2013

 BMW's monster 4-cylinder turbo engines 

cranked out 1,500 hp in qualifying trim

 It seems that F1 stakeholders have agreed on rule changes that will include using engines that are 50 per cent more fuel efficient than the current crop and apparently the route is turbocharging small engines to within an inch of its life.

Honda's V6 Turbo dominated the 1980s 

and gave us VTEC and a marketing lure that is still strong today

Word has it the new engine specification is 1.6-litres with compound turbocharging, Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) and power from these engines would be capped to between 600 and 750 horsepower.

Porsche-TAG V6 turbos were Honda's rivals..

Williams Vs McLaren

Remember those days? 

With less engine mass and fuel to lug around, 2013 F1 cars would probably be lighter than current ones so we can expect FIA to insist on more safety and the same minimum weight rule.

 Ferrari's turbo V6 were a lot less memorable

With four-cylinders powering F1, we can expect mass manufacturers returning to the fray because they are the four-pot experts.

In fact, Volkswagen had said before that they would consider F1 if greener engines and cost capping were part of the rules and they certainly would not mind the turbocharged four-cylinder rule either.

In the 1980s F1 used to run monster four-pots that cranked out 1,200 horsepower in qualifying trim and around 800 horses in race mode,...

I hope they allow for qualifying engines that needs to last only two weekends but race engines that need to soldier on for a few weekends more...that way we can get more variables packed into a weekend and give spectators more guessing games to play.

Less wing and same/more tyres would also make the game interesting...