Forumite on my snowboard forum works for Red Bull racing; after the debacle of a race on Sunday he posted these I thought Dan might like to see em:
FIA Unveils Radical Proposal to Cut F1 Costs by 90 Percent Written by: Cassio Cortes Paris, France – 6/16/2005 FIA president Max Mosley has long argued with F1's manufacturers over the need to reduce the sport's costs. (LAT Photo) The FIA has issued today (Thursday) a radical blueprint for Formula 1’s regulations from 2008 onwards, when the current Concorde Agreement expires. Citing the pressing need to cut costs dramatically, in view of the sport’s loss of two teams (Arrows and Prost) and one manufacturer (Ford) in recent years, the proposition is set to stir intense controversy, as its “retrograde” approach on most technology-related issues is certain to displease many at Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Renault, Toyota and Honda, the sport’s largest manufacturers, which are allied under the GPWC banner and threaten to quit F1 in ‘08. According to the FIA, the sum of what all manufacturers spend in the sport could drop from 1.5 billion euros (1.8b dollars) to as little as 150 million if all items proposed are pressed forward. “Formula 1 must not be allowed to become a money-spending competition,” today's release stated. “We need more emphasis on rules which allow a clever but underfunded team to defeat a less competent but richer rival. It must not be possible simply to buy success. “This is essential for the survival of fully independent teams.” Although the project would obviously degrade F1 from its current NASA-like technological plateau, the FIA sustained that to be a good thing: “It is sometimes suggested that reducing the scope for expenditure in Formula 1 reduces its technical interest or ‘dumbs it down.’ “The immediate question is: reduces its technical interest to whom? It may fascinate the relevant engineers that by spending millions of euros they can build a new gearbox with ratios that are 0.25mm thinner, but no-one else knows or cares. There is no additional value for the watching public who, ultimately, pay for the whole thing.” Below is the summary of the main changes proposed by the FIA for 2008: ENGINES: - All components of the engine will be controlled by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which has been manufactured by an FIA designated supplier to an agreed specification; - The ECU may only be used with FIA approved software and may only be connected to the control system wiring loom, sensors and actuators as specified by the FIA; - All control sensors, actuators and FIA monitoring sensors will be specified and homologated by the FIA; - The control system wiring loom connectivity will be specified by the FIA; - A 3 litre V10 engine will remain an option for teams unable to obtain a 2.4 litre V8, but subject to similar strict performance limitations as in 2006 and 2007 2.4L V8 engines would be controlled by an FIA-commissioned ECU, and feed their power to an equally standard gearbox. The standard ECU would also allow for the elimination of driving aids. (LAT Photo) Reasons: - to eliminate the use of driver aids such as traction control - as teams will not be able to develop their own ECUs, expenditure on electronics will be considerably reduced - to allow the FIA to check testing mileage and other elements - to keep engine costs low for the smaller independent teams GEARBOXES: - All cars will be fitted with gear ratios, final drive ratios and differentials which have been manufactured by an FIA designated supplier to an agreed specification - Gear changing will only be permitted by the use of a manually operated mechanical linkage to the gearbox - Clutches will only be operated via a foot pedal connected mechanically to a release mechanism Reasons: - to restore control over the clutch and gear changing to the driver - the use of standard gearbox internals will result in a very significant reduction in expenditure BODYWORK: - Downforce will be reduced to approximately 10% of current levels - Drag will be maintained at current levels - Overall car width will be increased - By stipulating maximum and minimum dimensions cars will be “cleaned up” with devices such as barge boards, flip ups, winglets and other small add on parts removed - Total advertising area on the car to remain unchanged Reasons: - to reduce the reliance upon downforce as a means of improving performance - by increasing mechanical grip the likelihood of one car being able to follow another closely in corners, and hence be in an attacking position at the end of the following straight, will be increased - eliminating winglets, bargeboards, etc, will reduce costs as well as the danger of debris on the circuits - drag should remain unchanged in order to ensure straight line speeds do not increase significantly WHEELS AND TIRES: - Tires will be supplied by one manufacturer appointed by the FIA after an invitation to tender. Such an appointment will be conditional upon: - a suitable supplier being available ; - a suitable system to ensure tire testing is carried out in an equitable manner ; - no team being disadvantaged by the appointment of a single supplier (detailed regulations will be written to ensure this would not be the case); - there being no legal impediments during the process of appointing a supplier - Slick tires will be introduced for use in dry weather - Lower profile tires will be introduced - Significantly larger wheels with minimum and maximum sizes stipulated for front and rear will be permitted - Tire blankets and other heating devices will be prohibited - All tire regulations will reside in the Technical Regulations Bigger wheels than the current 14-inch size would be wrapped by spec tires supplied by a single manufacturer. (LAT Photo) Reasons: - a single supplier would allow a bigger safety margin - the absence of competitive tire testing would reduce costs - as relatively small differences in tire compound and construction can have a significant effect on lap times, a single tire supplier would simply ensure that no team would be adversely affected by being contracted to the “wrong” supplier - slick tires would be re-introduced as a part of the low-downforce and high-mechanical-grip package - lower profile tires would be introduced in order to give the wheels and tires a more modern look and also permit more freedom on brakes and suspension - a ban on tire heating devices would eliminate this significant but unnecessary expenditure CHASSIS: - The minimum height of the center of gravity of the chassis will be specified - The minimum weight for a chassis will be specified - Energy of all impact tests will be increased - Loads for all static tests will be increased - Side intrusion test requirements will be increased - Ballast will be reduced to minimal levels Reasons: - to ensure that weight is distributed throughout the chassis - the center of gravity requirement should result in less pure ballast being used, the minimum weight will have to be achieved by the construction of a stronger chassis - by raising the impact test speeds, the static load criteria on structures such as roll hoops and increasing the penetration resistance, drivers will be even better protected than they are at present BRAKES: - All cars will be fitted with brake discs, pads and calipers which have been manufactured by an FIA designated supplier to an agreed specification Reason: - to reduce the cost of continual development of new materials and designs, the FIA specified products will be designed to work on all types of track and last an entire Grand Prix weekend. DATA ACQUISITION AND TELEMETRY: - With specific exceptions, any data acquisition system, telemetry system or associated sensors additional to those associated with the ECU will be physically separate and completely isolated from the control electronics - Pit to car telemetry will be prohibited Reasons: - to ensure that any data acquisition system used by a team cannot interfere with the FIA specified ECU and sensors - to ensure teams are unable to send messages to a car and potentially affect its performance The FIA wants to eliminate extra winglets and bring downforce to circa 10 percent of current levels. (LAT Photo) MATERIALS: - Limitations, similar to those within the 2006 engine regulations, will be imposed on all parts of the car Reason: - costs will be reduced as research into exotic materials will be unnecessary STARTER: - All cars will be equipped with a driver operated starter which is capable of starting the car without outside assistance a minimum number of times Reasons: - to simplify the operation of starting a car, at present it is massively complex - to give the driver a chance of starting a car unaided in the event of it stopping on the track - to reduce the number of personnel needed at an Event and hence reduce costs NOTICE OF CHANGE: - Notice periods for changing the rules will be related to the effect (if any) of a change on the design of a car rather than an artificial distinction between “sporting” and “technical” regulations. There will no longer be a distinction between changes to the engine, transmission or chassis. Reason: - to ensure that changes may be made to the regulations in a timely and more realistic way SPARE CARS: - Spare cars will be prohibited, i.e. no team may have more than two built-up cars available at an Event at any one time. Spare chassis will be permitted but precisely what constitutes a car in this context will be clearly defined Reason: - by taking one car less to races teams will be able to save considerable sums of money as, apart from the cost of the car itself, fewer personnel will be needed TESTING: - Testing will be limited to 30,000 kilometers per team between 1st January and 31st December, subject to a single tire supplier being appointed Reason: - To reduce the enormous amounts of money currently being spent on testing CAR ACQUISITION: - Teams will be free to buy a complete car or any part of a car from another constructor - How constructor’s points are to be allocated will be clearly defined after further discussion Reason: - to enable a team to buy a complete car, or any part of a car, from another constructor. As a result teams will be able to save considerable sums of money on the design and development of their cars.” The FIA outlined that the project is still a draft, but made clear that F1's 2008 regulations must be settled upon before the end of September '05. Thus, the publication of the draft comes as yet another chapter of the FIA's struggle with the GPWC manufacturers, the message being that the "rebel" automakers must join the discussions sooner rather than later to achieve common - and likely middle, given how squarely against the GPWC's desires today's propositions are - ground with the governing body, in order to avoid a CART/IRL-like schism in F1.
