FEBRUARY 16, 2002

Scratching around...

THE need for constant Formula 1 news is wearing the websites thin at the moment with the transcripts of Max Mosley's recent press lunches providing endless amount of irrelevant copy. Some websites are now claiming that Mosley is proposing that Formula 3000 be run with Formula 1 to bolster the grids. This is not what Mosley said.

Mosley commented that if the grids drop below 16 cars it would be possible for Formula 3000 cars to be run alongside F1 cars as happened in the 1960s at some races when the fields were thin. Mosley also made the point that in the 1950s when there were not enough Grand Prix cars about Formula 2 (the forerunner of Formula 3000) actually replaced the Formula 1 at the time.

The fact that the modern F1 cars and F3000s are built to identical dimensions would make this a lot less difficult to accept - if it were necessary. As the grid currently has 22 cars and there are hints that a 12th team will not be long in coming, the whole issue is really not relevant unless the economic downturn wipes out three teams.