Upcoming changes in F1 explained by Mosley

As usual, Max Mosley made sure to stay in touch with the F1 teams as a new season is about to start. The launch of the new single-seaters begins next week with Ferrari, and the Briton gives an overview of the current situation in a letter addressed to the FOTA.

Some general points:

« First of all, even before the current crisis, Formula 1 was not viable. The costs have always been high. Secondly, it is impossible to significantly reduce costs without major changes. Inevitably, every project, every facility, and unfortunately, even every person must take the situation into account. Thirdly, the fact of having recently invested in an expensive facility is not an argument in favor of maintaining it. That money has been spent. It is gone. Fourthly, there is no rational argument for continuing to use expensive technologies in Formula 1 that have no relevance outside the sport and are not known (and therefore of no interest) to the general public. »

Details:

« The modifications made to the 2009 regulation agreed upon during the meeting on December 10 will help a lot. We need detailed proposals on certain elements, particularly the restriction on wind tunnel use to 40 hours per week on a reduced scale. Many points have already been implemented. We are ready to accept new cost reduction measures for 2009 if they have the agreement of all teams. »

In 2010, there will be very big changes.

Engine:

« The limit will be reduced to 17,000 rpm in 2010. The engines will remain completely frozen until 2013, as already agreed. Testing will be limited to 15,000 km per year, including the test Fridays. »

« On this basis, Cosworth will be able to supply engines from 2010 for less than 5 million euros per season and per team. Additionally, reducing to 17,000 rpm will allow for further cost savings for current engine suppliers. »

Transmission:

« We intend to make it a condition of entry in the 2010 Championship. XR would supply the transmissions. We appreciate that some teams would like to continue with their current arrangements, but the fully standard gearbox is an obvious way to save very significant amounts of money without affecting Formula 1. Again, this will have no impact on the spectacle, but it will save even more money and eliminate certain issues. »

Chassis:

« We will soon create a list of chassis parts and systems which, from 2010 onwards, will be the only chassis components that can be developed. All other components will be frozen. We wish to develop this list in consultation with FOTA, but it must be understood that this will result in a radical reduction in R&D expenditure on chassis, and thus a very significant reduction in costs. »

KERS:

« Each team must adopt the KERS. It is also possible for the teams to agree on a standard system. This is a topic we would like to explore in depth with the FOTA. »

Tires

« Apparently, a lot of money is at stake for a better balance of the single-seaters with the current tires. We would like to discuss with the FOTA a possible change in downforce as the new aerodynamic regulations impose new rules. At the same time, we want to examine with Bridgestone and the FOTA the possibility of introducing compounds that would not produce graining. »

Capped budgets:

« We believe that once again this is the subject of discussions within FOTA. The idea that each team should have the same amount of money, so that success is simply a function of intellectual capacity. If this system is properly applied, it would be a very good thing. »

The show:

« The main complaint from fans is the lack of overtaking and ‘wheel to wheel’ racing. The modifications made to the aerodynamics have been proposed by a high-level team of experts and will take effect in 2009. It remains to be seen if the KERS with its additional 80 horsepower will allow for overtaking. There are also proposals to modify the sporting regulations, such as reversing the grids, grid place allocation, and the medal system that crowns the driver with the most wins. »

The future:

« As already mentioned, the financial barriers to entry were already too high before the global financial crisis. We had a championship that relied on the willingness of the automotive industry to spend huge sums on Formula 1 races. In the current circumstances, it would be crazy to think that this could continue. Costs must be reduced to a point where an independent team can operate profitably with a little money and sponsorship. This is the only way to preserve the championship and allow new teams to enter. »

« The FIA itself would not be financially disadvantaged by a collapse of Formula 1, but it would suffer in another way. And in any case, we believe we have a duty to do whatever is necessary to preserve the championship, the commercial rights holders, and motor racing in general. We are therefore ready to act radically. We hope that, despite the changes that need to be made, all the teams active in 2010 will adhere to our ideas. »

We hope that the FOTA will support the actions we are undertaking and that it will help us make the decisions that still need to be made.

Max Mosley