Why would it be tainted? Even if these issue's remain present when the season starts, we'd still have three top teams fighting for the title. No different than before just because it might not be Red Bull.
I think they have gone too far trying to spice things up this year, and they've flown pretty close to the wind in this regard in the last couple of years. I'm not basing any of this on the Renault fiasco which is an inexcusable **** up, but they've introduced one of the most significant rule changes in decades and then slashed the amount of testing time. Then to make matters worse they've been limited to five engines for the season. I've never agreed with people who say retirements are exciting, I think it's a farcical way for a race to be decided and can be completely unfair. 2012 at McLaren is a pretty good example, Hamilton thrashed Button, he was embarrassing him at certain points of the season, but because Hamilton was plagued with unreliability he only finished two points ahead. The Renault engines that year are a pretty good example as well, 8 drivers were running their engines, Vettel lost a win and a 6th place to alternators, Grosjean lost a second place, and I think the rest were largely unaffected. Of course reliability is part of the package, but sometimes two drivers or two teams can get completely different results from the same package and it's just luck who ends up with what. It wouldn't be good if a driver lost a load of race wins, and as a result the championship, to a driver who inherited a load of wins for example.
We're almost a third of the way through testing and the teams still aren't running the engines flat out. On top of that they're trying to learn what the new tyres and new aero are like, and what the best way to approach a race is in terms of fuel saving and tyres. And even if by some miracle they get a handle on all that, all their hard work could be undone by one faulty component. On top of all this Bernie's pushing for double points in the last three races, by which time there's probably going to be grid penalties galore as everyone moves into their 6th, 7th and 8th engines.*
I'm not saying the championship will be tainted, but it would be a crying a shame if it was decided by which driver happened to get the fewest faulty parts delivered by his engine supplier. There'd also be uproar if McLaren have a faster car than Mercedes this year but lose the championship to them because their engines seem to blow up more frequently than the works team's.
*They also have a weird way of applying penalties this year:
b) For the purposes of this Article 28.4 the power unit will be deemed to comprise six separate elements, the engine (ICE), the motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), the energy store (ES), turbocharger (TC) and control electronics (CE). Each driver will therefore be permitted to use five of each of the above six components during a Championship season and any combination of them may be fitted to a car at any one time.c) Should a driver use more than five of any one of the elements a grid place penalty will be imposed upon him at the first event during which each additional element is used. Penalties will be applied according to the following table and will be cumulative:
- Replacement of a complete power unit – The driver concerned must start the race from the pit lane.
- The first time a 6th of any of the elements is used – Ten grid place penalty.
- The first time a 6th of any of the remaining elements is used – Five grid place penalty.
- The first time a 7th of any of the elements is used – Ten grid place penalty.
- The first time a 7th of any of the remaining elements is used, and so on – Five grid place penalty.
So basically if a team has a recurring issue with a specific component, say the energy store, they'll get a ten place penalty each time they replace it once they've used the first 5.
