DECEMBER 5, 2002

Formula 1 team bosses work on cost-cutting

The Formula 1 team bosses and technical men met on Wednesday in London to try to push forward ideas about how to cut costs in the sport in the future. All plans for radical change were, not surprisingly, rejected.

The Formula 1 team bosses and technical men met on Wednesday in London to try to push forward ideas about how to cut costs in the sport in the future. All plans for radical change were, not surprisingly, rejected. The meeting lasted eight hours but it seems that it will be at least two years before anything really radical will be tried.

A move to reintroduce slick tyres and reduce downforce, while also getting rid of traction-control (which will be very hard to police) is being proposed in the longer term. The dnager of this is that it will revive the bad feeling that previously existed when there were constant accusations that teams were cheating by using illegal traction-control systems.

The intention is to create cars which slide more and are therefore more difficult to drive. This means that drivers will make more mistakes and there will be more overtaking. The danger is that a whole new can of technical worms will be opened.