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Formula One panel meets to cut soaring costs
London, Oct 28: The most important meeting in Formula One in years promises major changes for next season.
London, Oct 28: The most important meeting in Formula One in years promises major changes for next season.
Several radical ideas will be on the table on Monday when the 26-member Formula One Commission meets in a bid to perk up the sport and cut soaring costs. Calls for change grew louder after Ferrari won 15 of 17 races last season with five-time series champion Michael Schumacher taking a record-11.
The Ferrari landslide set off a slump in TV ratings and brought questions from cash-rich sponsors. Neither of the radical plans seems likely to be approved: a swap proposal with every driver racing for each team; a handicapping system with the fastest car carrying ballast to give slower cars a chance.
But other tinkering seems certain with FIA President Max Mosley and Formula One's commerical head, Bernie Ecclestone, warning the sport's future needs "protecting."
Among the proposals on the table: changes to qualifying - changes in tire regulations - reduced testing time, estimated to cost US$ 450 million annually - reduced changes in aerodynamics during the season - limited number of engines - limited number of gearboxes - standardized brakes and electronics - changes in the season points-scoring system.
The meeting in a hotel at Heathrow airport outside London has been dubbed the "most important" in 20 years by BMW Williams team director Frank Williams. Mosley has warned there must be changes with 18 of 26 votes needed to revise so-called "sporting regulations."
So-called "technical changes" need a unanimous vote. "We can't force anything through," Mosley said. "We need to get the 18 votes and get the majority of teams in favor. We are saying to the team bosses that there is a problem, and here are a couple of possible solutions."
Ferrari and McLaren have already come out against the two radical proposals and Ferrari has threatened to leave the sport if it senses changes are being made solely to stop the Italians. Smaller teams led by Jordan favor the changes to regain a competitive edge. Without changes, Mosley has warned that Ferrari may again run away with the 2003 season.
Teams have 12 votes on the F1 Commission. Toyota, a new team, has no vote and the votes of Minadri and Arrows are being disputed. Mosley, voting for FIA, has one vote. So does Ecclestone.
There are eight votes for race promoters. Engine suppliers and tire suppliers get one vote each: Ford votes for engine suppliers and Bridgestone has the tire vote. Two sponsors also get votes: tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris and oil company Exxon Mobil. Schumacher rewrote F1 records last season: most season victories (11), most points in a season (144), largest winning points margin (67), most career wins (64). Schumacher also won his fifth series title - and third straight - to match the record set in the 1950s by Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio. Schumacher and Barrichello finished 1-2 in nine races, with the Brazilian winning four. The constructors' title went to Ferrari in a landslide with 221 points, followed by Williams (92) and McLaren (67).
Bureau Report
Several radical ideas will be on the table on Monday when the 26-member Formula One Commission meets in a bid to perk up the sport and cut soaring costs. Calls for change grew louder after Ferrari won 15 of 17 races last season with five-time series champion Michael Schumacher taking a record-11.
The Ferrari landslide set off a slump in TV ratings and brought questions from cash-rich sponsors. Neither of the radical plans seems likely to be approved: a swap proposal with every driver racing for each team; a handicapping system with the fastest car carrying ballast to give slower cars a chance.
But other tinkering seems certain with FIA President Max Mosley and Formula One's commerical head, Bernie Ecclestone, warning the sport's future needs "protecting."
Among the proposals on the table: changes to qualifying - changes in tire regulations - reduced testing time, estimated to cost US$ 450 million annually - reduced changes in aerodynamics during the season - limited number of engines - limited number of gearboxes - standardized brakes and electronics - changes in the season points-scoring system.
The meeting in a hotel at Heathrow airport outside London has been dubbed the "most important" in 20 years by BMW Williams team director Frank Williams. Mosley has warned there must be changes with 18 of 26 votes needed to revise so-called "sporting regulations."
So-called "technical changes" need a unanimous vote. "We can't force anything through," Mosley said. "We need to get the 18 votes and get the majority of teams in favor. We are saying to the team bosses that there is a problem, and here are a couple of possible solutions."
Ferrari and McLaren have already come out against the two radical proposals and Ferrari has threatened to leave the sport if it senses changes are being made solely to stop the Italians. Smaller teams led by Jordan favor the changes to regain a competitive edge. Without changes, Mosley has warned that Ferrari may again run away with the 2003 season.
Teams have 12 votes on the F1 Commission. Toyota, a new team, has no vote and the votes of Minadri and Arrows are being disputed. Mosley, voting for FIA, has one vote. So does Ecclestone.
There are eight votes for race promoters. Engine suppliers and tire suppliers get one vote each: Ford votes for engine suppliers and Bridgestone has the tire vote. Two sponsors also get votes: tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris and oil company Exxon Mobil. Schumacher rewrote F1 records last season: most season victories (11), most points in a season (144), largest winning points margin (67), most career wins (64). Schumacher also won his fifth series title - and third straight - to match the record set in the 1950s by Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio. Schumacher and Barrichello finished 1-2 in nine races, with the Brazilian winning four. The constructors' title went to Ferrari in a landslide with 221 points, followed by Williams (92) and McLaren (67).
Bureau Report