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15th October 2008

The UK’s Times newspaper has published extracts taken from a document detailing a five year plan by the FIA to drastically reduce the cost of competing in the Formula One World Championship.

The Times article also states that a summit meeting between FIA president Max Mosley and F1 team representatives to discuss the proposals contained in the document has been arranged to take place in Geneva next week.

Included among the proposals is the introduction of standardised engines from the beginning of the 2010 season ahead of the introduction of a new engine formula starting in 2013 in which the power trains (engine and gearbox) will incorporate heat and exhaust recovery systems which are, optimistically, required to be achieved at a development cost far lower then present budgets. In addition the cars that will be powered by these engines and power trains will be required to have a chassis incorporating a number of “common parts” including standardised suspension systems, wheels and aerodynamic underbodies.

A key aim of the FIA proposals is to reduce the cost of competing in F1 to the level that in future the teams will be able to run on budgets equal to the television rights money distributed to them by Formula One Management (FOM).

The Times article quotes explanatory notes from the document that are attributed to Mosley which read, “The FIA believes that Formula One costs are unsustainable. Even before current global financial problems, teams were spending far more than their incomes, in so far as these consist of sponsorship plus FOM money. As a result, the independent teams are now dependent on the goodwill of rich individuals, while the manufacturers' teams depend on massive handouts from their parent companies.

“There is now a real danger that, in some cases, these subsidies will cease. This could result in a reduction in the number of competitors, adding to the two team vacancies we already have and reducing the grid to an unacceptable level. The FIA's view is that Formula One can only be healthy if a team can race competitively for a budget at or very close to what it gets from FOM.”

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