JULY 3, 2008

Mosley talks rules

Max Mosley has written to all the F1 teams with his latest ideas about the Formula 1 rules and, in keeping with his current policy of winning friends, he has "invited" the teams to come up with proposals for new rules, rather than telling them how things are going to be.

Max Mosley has written to all the F1 teams with his latest ideas about the Formula 1 rules and, in keeping with his current policy of winning friends, he has invited the teams to come up with proposals for new rules, rather than telling them how things are going to be.

Mosley says that F1 is "becoming unsustainable as the major manufacturers are currently employing up to 1000 people to put two cars on the grid. This is clearly unacceptable at a time when all these companies are facing difficult market conditions". Mosley says that F1 cannot afford to be "profligate in its use of fuel. Indeed, without the KERS initiative, some major sponsors might already have left".

Mosley has asked the teams to propose ideas to reduce current levels of expenditure by at least 50% to enable the independent teams become financially viable. Although this must be done with no affect on the spectacle. He is also asking for more useful energy to be extracted from less fuel with a 50% reduction from today™s levels of fuel consumption by 2015, while maintaining current speeds. Mosley adds that the rules should encourage manufacturer teams to research technologies which are road-relevant rather than F1-specific; and to improve the racing, including rules to ensure that cars remain aerodynamically efficient when in close proximity to one another.

Mosley says that this is now urgent and thet he wants new rules in three months or the FIA will produce its own 2011 rules. The new proposals should be sent to the FIA by October 3 and should be sufficiently detailed to allow precise rules to be drafted. Teams which design and develop their own drive train (usually manufacturer teams) must be prepared to supply a complete and fully competitive drive train to an independent team at very low cost.

Mosley suggest that this should be as low as $4m, which is well below the cost.The complete drive train would include all the new energy-saving technologies. He says that teams should consider restrictions on simulators, wind tunnel use, CFD and other home-base facilities, together with long-life chassis components, up to 10-race drive trains, no gear ratio changes during life of drive train, current parc ferme rules extended for entire race weekend and other proposals to reduce the cost per kilometre of operating an F1 car.

While the letter says it is up to the teams to decide, it is fairly clear from these stipulations that it is not going to be an easy task for the teams to agree a full set of rules and so in all probability it will revert to the FIA to do as it pleases.