Technical reliability in formula one has taken a great leap forward in 2011.
Last Sunday at Valencia was the first-ever 24-car finish in F1 history, with every competitor entered in the world championship making it to the chequered flag.
And Germany’s Die Welt newspaper noted that in the eight races so far this season, there were only 18 technical failures, compared to 38 at the same point one year ago.
"Reliability is at least as important as speed," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, "and to be the best requires a combination of both."
But Jarno Trulli, a veteran driver who has spent the last season and a half at the back of the field with Team Lotus, is not so sure perfect reliability is good for F1.
"When I started racing (in F1), a driver knew how he’d start a race but not how he would finish it. This implies two things," he wrote in a column for La Repubblica. "The first is that the chances for a small team to get in the points have sensibly reduced; the second is a further loss of appeal for F1."