FIA spins its wheels with even more F1 regulations
The World Motor Sport Council of the FIA has approved yet another array of restrictions on Formula One development in a bid to further reduce costs in the top-level racing series. Following the imposition of a 10-year freeze on engine development and restrictions on aerodynamic testing, the new regulations cover a broad spectrum of areas, including design, manufacturing, testing, development of suspension, brakes and hydraulics, bodywork, weight distribution, on-track testing and personnel. More details are expected to be revealed after discussions take place with the teams at a meeting scheduled for mid-January.
Although the stated aim of the tighter regulations is to reduce enormous costs of operating a Formula One racing team, the restrictions put F1 in danger of losing its status as the pinnacle of motor racing and further reduce the already-debatable benefit F1 development has on production road cars.
As this writer expressed in a recent discussion with an FIA official, the goal of reducing costs would be better served if the FIA took a page out of the playbooks of other top-level sports: In order to cap spending in the sport, actually cap spending. The FIA should impose a cap on spending, not unlike a major-league salary cap, rather than searching for more round-about ways of restricting development in which the engineers will invariably find new loop-holes.
[Source: AutoWeek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
NewJerseyBMW 1:25PM (12/19/2007)
I'm waiting for breaking news "Alonso, Kimi, Hamilton recruited by NASCAR for 2009!" and "david Coultard finally realizes he's a dinosaur and retires!"
bananas
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tbyron 3:00PM (12/19/2007)
Isn't at least half of the average Nextel Cup field older than DC? Is Nextel where dinosaurs go so they don't have to drive in the rain or worry about standing stop starts anymore?
judd 1:26PM (12/19/2007)
If they are not careful they'll turn this into NASCAR. I guess Coulthard isn't too far off going to NASCAR.
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Luis 1:33PM (12/19/2007)
Is anyone else getting a headache from reading all this junk? The FIA needs to occupy their time with something else...
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Mobius_1 10:35PM (12/19/2007)
You know, they might as well just provide the cars to all the teams rather than setting all these ridiculous rules...
damian 1:48PM (12/19/2007)
If they are concerned about costs why don't they just cap the team budget?
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ChrisL 1:48PM (12/19/2007)
They should scrap all those complex crazy regulations that take away from genuine creativity and start again.
How about simple regulations like "it has to fit inside a box measuring "X" by "Y" by "Z", and can only have "X" horsepower at the rear wheels. That's it. We might actually have more creative technologies show up along the way to keep people interested in watching. Remember the "vacuum fan" cars, sideskirts and all? How about the six wheeled F1 car that was around for a year or two?
Quit worrying about how much it costs the teams, let them bankrupt themselves.
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Steven 1:57PM (12/19/2007)
I do agree that a salary cap is the ideal solution. But this can lead to creative accounting. The FIA would have to make a tremendous effort to scrutinize expenses; perhaps a small staff per team is required.
Also, I imagine that the teams don't pay equally for development costs. For example, is likely "cheap" for Ferrari to test an F1 car on Fiorano, but for teams without a track to test on, they must pay to rent a track. How does that factor into each team's budget?
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R 2:41PM (12/19/2007)
That's why I believe it's not the ideal situation, and I'm sure the FIA realizes that as well. Large businesses are already well trained in the art of book juggling.
I have on idea what a good alternative would be. It's difficult to both represent and restrict innovation.
R 2:45PM (12/19/2007)
Er, that was supposed to be "no", not "on."
Tele 2:27PM (12/19/2007)
It would be more helpful if they realized that imposing all these restrictions just costs more money since the teams spend more time figuring out how to get around them.
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DriverG 2:06PM (12/19/2007)
Why would they even want to do this? F1 is far from hurting right now. There's more money flowing into it than ever before - even after loosing the tobacco money. Even the bad teams have big name sponsors these days - and get more competitive every year. When that turns around, worry, but for now things are looking up.
All this while still having less passing than any motorsport aside from drag racing. If they want to fix something, get some fans on those raidiators, or figure out another way to increase cooling, so cars can get close enough for long enough to execute a pass. Even if they don't, most F1 fans and fashionistas really don't seem to care.
Hmmm, which Puma driving shoes should I buy for my wife, Ferrari, BMW/SauberPuma, Williams, ING Renault...
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Travis Rassat 3:12PM (12/19/2007)
I also agree the idea of a salary cap/team cost cap would be a better solution. Perhaps limiting sponsorship dollars for a given season would also be appropriate. If you start a race team, your team will essentially become a public company in order to stay within the rules.
Other than that, I think the main focus of regulations should be safety. Let's not stifle creativity and technological advancement - those are the things that made motorsports what they are. If the racing governing bodies continue to kill the technology, what motivation do manufacturers have to participate?
These same thoughts can be applied to many other racing series, too.
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JS 3:22PM (12/19/2007)
Here here to a cap. This "freeze on development" doesnt do anyone any good besides stifle innovation or create a generation of crafty engineer's who are secretly building doomsday devices in their basements to "show them" their genius....
Okay so maybe not the last part so much, but you get my point.
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tankd0g 4:26PM (12/19/2007)
I used to think that the FIA was ferrari's lap dog. But now I think it's KIAs or perhaps Proton's. At this rate, soon they will be able to field competetive teams of their own.
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EMC 5:06PM (12/19/2007)
As i've said many times, the best thing to do would be de-restrict all technologies, but make every team use a restrictor plate and a "control" fuel injector so only a certain amount of fuel could be used. This would encourage development into getting the most power out of the least fuel, and more efficient technologies which would be directly applicable to road cars.
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clevershark 5:23PM (12/19/2007)
If I wanted to watch a high-end motor sport where every team is equal, I'd watch A1GP... there's really no point in having F1 at all in this environment where regulations specifically forbid any sort of innovation or improvement.
At least A1 give me a team to cheer for, as a Canadian...
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bunkie 5:40PM (12/19/2007)
If this trend continues, every single racing series will be a spec series and I will be spared the effort of having to care.
When I was a kid, my hero was Jim Hall (of Chaparral fame) who is worth more than all the spec racing teams combined.
I agree. Craft a salary cap. Then eliminate almosy every rule that has nothing to do with safety and let the creativity flow. *That* would be fun to watch. We poor regular folk might even benefit as well.
Finally, NASCAR's cynically-named "car of tomorrow" is a symbol of everything that is wrong with racing.
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Patrik K 5:48PM (12/19/2007)
I agree in theory with the spending cap: This would encourage the engineers to be even more clever as to how they spend their money in order to develop the car best. But how would it be implemented?
I think one of the worst things that have been happening is that new regulations have generated new investments in order to circumvent these regulations. It would be better to regulate what is already there than to pressure F1 teams to make new investments.
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Jason Bird 11:58AM (12/20/2007)
As an American, who desperately wants to be an F1 fan, if you want to make the racing better, you must find ways to make passing more frequent.
I don't want to watch a parade where the only meaningful passing occurs in the pits. Take half of the tires away, all electronic braking and traction assists, and limit downforce. Let them do as they will with the engine, brake materials, and suspension. Give them a money cap and we will have real open wheel racing again.
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