F1 – The Future of F1?

fia-flagThe WMSC took the opportunity of their McLaren meeting to put the final touches on their plans for 2010. The FIA also decided that there shall be cost capped teams and unlimited budget teams. Here is a summary of what they decided.

Cost capped teams shall be limited to £40 million which is higher than the original amount of £30 million proposed by Max Mosley. They shall be allowed movable aero on the front and rear wings. No rev limit shall be imposed on their engines. No limits shall be placed on their off season testing programs and no restrictions shall be placed on wind tunnels. The cost cap will not cover driver salaries, young driver programs, hospitality, marketing or any other item deemed to not affect the performance of the team. Also, for 2010 only, the engine program costs will not be covered by the cap.

Unlimited budget teams shall adhere to the regulations already in place for 2009, including rev limits and testing restrictions. They will not be allowed to develop movable aero.

Given the interest that was generated by the cost capping announcement, the FIA has decided that 26 cars shall be allowed on the grid going forward.

For the purpose of policing the new cost capped teams, a three member commission shall be established by the FIA to oversee team expenditures.

Also, the FIA confirmed that race refueling will be banned in 2010, along with tyre warmers.

At present, there appears to be many gaps in the FIA’s budget cap system. They have yet to detail how it would affect a team’s budget cap if they decided to build new facilities like a new wind tunnel. They also have not detailed how they would handle the relative disparity in facilities if a team like Ferrari opted to run under the cost cap, as compared to minnow or startup teams that do not own test tracks or wind tunnels.

We will watch with great interest to see how this unfolds over the next few days as the full regulations are released by the FIA. The teams obviously will be watching as well since the FIA has set the entry deadline for the week of May 22nd through 29th. Of note is that the FIA is requiring teams to declare at that time whether they will be cost capped or unlimited budget.

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2 Thoughts to “F1 – The Future of F1?

  1. I think this idea has potential. It will be interesting to see how it plays out next year, but it might be a good model for other motorsports series to emulate. It seems a good compromise between the desire to have a strong element of innovation in racing while at the same time providing some measure of cost containment.

  2. I am concerned over the FIA’s governance of this cost cap, but I personally prefer a cost cap over other possible solutions like spec components.

    I agree with Williams, I would prefer not having the two tier system. But with the added areas for development such as KERS, engine revs and aero, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

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