JANUARY 15, 2003

Tin helmets on...

This morning the Formula 1 team principals will meet in London to discuss how to cut more costs in F1 this year. They will then all go on for a meeting with FIA President Max Mosley. It is known that the federation is fed up with trying to get the teams to agree to make changes to save money and help the smaller teams survive and it is anticipated that Mosley is going to grab the initiative and try to find a way to force the teams to accept change.

This is going to make for a lively meeting as some of the bigger teams are opposed to any form of change which they see undermines their advantage. They argue that Mosley cannot change the rules without their agreement.

The problem is that with F1 numbers dwindling the teams are in less of a bargaining position than they may think because it might not be long before there are not enough cars available for them to meet their contractual obligations in the Concorde Agreement.

One way or another we can expect fireworks at today's meeting and these may have long-term implications for the sport not just in terms of new regulations but also to the balance of power that exists today.