Decisive Day for F1 in Geneva

Today, in Geneva, the F1 commission composed of 26 members meets, including twelve team representatives, eight Grand Prix promoters, two sponsors, one representative of the engine manufacturers, one representative of Pirelli, and naturally Bernie Ecclestone and the president of the FIA, Jean Todt.

The commission will first need to study the name change requests of three teams. Besides Marussia Virgin Racing, which wishes to become Marussia, named after the main sponsor and co-owner of the team—and likely to finally take the Russian license—the commission is expected to end the battle between the two Lotus teams, with Team Lotus taking the name Caterham for 2012, after Tony Fernandes acquired it earlier this season, thus allowing Lotus Renault Grand Prix to simply become Lotus.

The 2012 calendar is also expected to be at the center of discussions for the Commission, with ongoing uncertainties surrounding the future of the Bahrain and South Korea Grand Prix. The political situation in the small Gulf kingdom does not seem to have improved, while the organizers of the Korean Grand Prix have recently expressed their desire to renegotiate their contract with Bernie Ecclestone. The organization of the calendar itself could be revised, as teams have repeatedly expressed concerns about the logistical challenge imposed by the provisional calendar established by F1’s chief financier.

Finally, the commission will also examine the 2012 regulation. Tire allocation is likely to be at the center of debates, with Pirelli wanting for months to revise a system that has clearly shown its limits this season. The goal for the Italian manufacturer is to ensure that all drivers qualified in Q3 take to the track and is considering qualification tires for this purpose. But the Milanese company also wants to end waste, as drivers sometimes return one to two sets of unused hard tires destined for destruction after each Grand Prix.

Although the measure is not unanimous, even in the smaller teams, the commission is also expected to explore the possibility of reintroducing customer chassis. For some teams, this is primarily a matter of clarification following the multiplication of technical partnerships between teams in recent months, with Force India and Virgin associated with McLaren, HRT with Williams, and Team Lotus with Red Bull.

The teams would also like to review the regulations concerning the safety car so that, before the restart, the cars lapped by one lap are placed at the back of the pack, for obvious safety reasons, a rule that had been implemented in the past but was quickly abolished due to the time loss it caused.

The first leaks or announcements could take place as early as this afternoon or in the early evening. More information to follow on casinoenligne.uk.com.