Indeed. Back in the days they used to weld the cylinder heads to the engine block before qualifying, so they could run it that bit harder to get that extra bit of performance. Obviously not something that increases the lifespan of the engine...
Similarly in current F1, they know quite well how much life they have of the engine, and how much life a quali lap takes from the engine compared to a calm outlap.
If the regulations mandated a single engine per season they could do it, though they'd mostly just turn everything down.
Similarly in current F1, they know quite well how much life they have of the engine, and how much life a quali lap takes from the engine compared to a calm outlap.
If the regulations mandated a single engine per season they could do it, though they'd mostly just turn everything down.