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F1 fixes taking 'four times longer'

SAKHIR, Baharain - Fixing technical problems is taking mechanics up to four times longer with F1's new turbo V6 era.

Marco Canseco, writing in the Spanish sports daily Marca, said the issue was so significant that a breakdown on a  Saturday morning of a race weekend could mean the car not being repaired in time for qualifying.

"Repair processes have at times been multiplied by four," said Canseco, referring to the multitude of breakdowns seen so far at the Jerez and Bahrain tests. "If replacing a gearbox used to take an hour, we can now be talking four hours.  In the case of an engine, we can be talking seven hours."

ACCESS REALLY COMPLICATED

Ferrari's Pat Fry was quoted as saying: "The cars are very complicated and it can take a while just to get in there and find the problem."

A Toro Rosso mechanic told Marca: "The problem is that,with the new power units, everything is packaged within millimetres.

"To find a faulty sensor that meant you stopped the car as a precaution can mean dismantling half the engine. Access is really complicated."

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 F1 season – fresh reports every day.
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