FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[EwanM]

Today (Tuesday) will mark the start of an important period in Grand Prix racing with the meeting of the FIA World Council.
Here the radical cost cutting measures will be revealed - will we see massive budget cuts for the teams?
Furthermore the FIA will consider FOTA's recommendations concerning the likes of the point system and making fuel loads public etc etc.

Will the announcements be good or bad? And why has there been such a quiet build up to todays meeting?

[Griff]

I didn't even know it was going on. The new points 12-7..... or whatever it was won't be that different but the medal idea was stupid.
As for fuel i see no gain from making the loads public that also sounds bad. (btw does anyone know if there is going to be a ban on refueling during the race for 2010)

[EwanM]

I didn't even know it was going on. The new points 12-7..... or whatever it was won't be that different but the medal idea was stupid.
As for fuel i see no gain from making the loads public that also sounds bad. (btw does anyone know if there is going to be a ban on refueling during the race for 2010)

I think all will be revealed tomorrow concerning this year and the future... Will Max press on with his Budget Cap Idea? That's another issue which may cause much controversy.

[Rivelution]

I didn't even know it was going on. The new points 12-7..... or whatever it was won't be that different but the medal idea was stupid.
As for fuel i see no gain from making the loads public that also sounds bad. (btw does anyone know if there is going to be a ban on refueling during the race for 2010)

I agree that making fuel loads public is stupid. I personally think its fun guessing who is lighter than so and so.

[Gaz]

Its Out.

Dodgy Points system

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... 70309.aspx


The FIA will publish the weights of all cars after qualifying at each Event.- Thats s***.

Points system is alright i guess. can be abused tho.

If we had a really really close season and somone won 2 races but nothing else then there were diffrent winners for the remaining races (unlikly i know)

the person who got 20 points from 2 race wins would be WDC

[SarahB62]

FIA Press Release

Press Release
World Motor Sport Council - Decisions 17/03/2009
The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 17 March 2009. The following decisions were taken:



FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

A number of measures were agreed to help reduce costs and increase interest in the FIA Formula One World Championship.

2009 Formula One Regulations

Points

The WMSC accepted the proposal from Formula One Management to award the drivers’ championship to the driver who has won the most races during the season. If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points, the allocation of points being based on the current 10, 8, 6 etc. system.

The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will be decided by the current points system. There is no provision to award medals for first, second or third place. The Constructors’ Championship is unaffected.

The WMSC rejected the alternative proposal from the Formula One Teams’ Association to change the points awarded to drivers finishing in first, second and third place to 12, 9 and 7 points respectively.

Testing

Teams will be allowed to carry out three one day young driver training tests between the end of the last event of the Championship and 31 December of the same year. Drivers are eligible only if they have not competed in more than two F1 World Championship Events in the preceding 24 months or tested a Formula One car on more than four days in the same 24 month period.

Teams can also conduct eight one day aerodynamic tests carried out on FIA approved straight line or constant radius sites between 1 January 2009 and the end of the last Event of the 2009 Championship.

Media

The FIA will publish the weights of all cars after qualifying at each Event.

For greater clarity for spectators and media, wet tyres have been renamed “intermediate” and extreme-weather tyres renamed “wet”.

On the first day of practice all drivers must be available for autograph signing in their designated team space in the pit lane.

All drivers eliminated in qualifying must make themselves available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session.

Any driver retiring before the end of the race must make himself available for media interviews after his return to the paddock.

All drivers who finish the race outside the top three must make themselves available immediately after the end of the race for media interviews.

During the race every team must make at least one senior spokesperson available for interviews by officially accredited TV crews.

A number of further amendments were adopted for the 2009 Technical Regulations. Full details will be available shortly on www.fia.com.

2010 Formula One Regulations

Budgets

As an alternative to running under the existing rules, which are to remain stable until 2012, all teams will have the option to compete with cars built and operated within a stringent cost cap.

The cost cap is £30m (currently approximately €33 or $42m). This figure will cover all expenditure of any kind. Anything subsidised or supplied free will be deemed to have cost its full commercial value and rigorous auditing procedures will apply.

To enable these cars to compete with those from teams which are not subject to cost constraints, the cost-capped cars will be allowed greater technical freedom.

The principal technical freedoms allowed are as follows:

1. A more aerodynamically efficient (but standard) under body.
2. Movable wings.
3. An engine which is not subject to a rev limit or a development freeze.

The FIA has the right to adjust elements of these freedoms to ensure that the cost-capped cars have neither an advantage nor a disadvantage when compared to cars running to the existing rules.

Click here for a Q&A document regarding the 2010 cost cap.

The Honda Racing F1 Team requested to change its name to the Brawn GP Formula One Team. The WMSC accepted this request on the basis that the team is, in effect, a new entry in the FIA Formula One World Championship. The contract the team had with the FIA was to run as ‘Honda’, which they are no longer in a position to do. However, the standard fee required for a new entry has been waived.


WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

In 2010, cars eligible to score points in the Manufacturers’ Championship include the present and future World Rally Cars, and Super 2000 cars.

To reflect a need to further reduce and control costs, the proposed technical regulations for the future World Rally Car have been amended.

For the 2011 and 2012 Championships, the World Rally Car will be based on Super 2000 with the addition of a specified kit restricted to modifications to the bodywork, being removable aerodynamic devices. The car will be subject to specific technical regulations intended to control costs through restrictions on the changing of engines, transmissions and similar components. The maximum 8,500rpm for the engine will be maintained for all World Rally Championship and S2000 cars.

Present World Rally Cars will not be eligible for the Championship from 2011.

From 2013, it is proposed that the World Rally Car will continue to be Super 2000 based with a cost-effective 1.6 litre turbo engine. This is subject to review, based on the specification of the car produced by manufacturers for the mass market.


Environment

The WMSC gave preliminary approval to a number of proposals from the FIA Environmentally Sustainable Motor Sport Commission (ESMSC). These proposals will now be discussed more widely with the Manufacturers, National Sporting Associations, Commissions, and other interested parties.

At its first meeting, the ESMSC agreed that the consumption and emissions of motor sport are so small that the sport itself is not directly threatened by sustainability issues. However, addressing sustainability in motor sport can create directly relevant technologies and solutions for the wider automotive industry, and by acting as a catalyst for change motor sport can help champion sustainability across the entire sector.

It was further agreed that making motor sport a sustainable activity may well also open up new business opportunities for the motor sport industry in the widest sense.

As such, the ESMSC will work with the FIA Alternative Energies Commission and be responsible for:

1. Developing regulatory principles and measurement technologies for energy efficient based motor sport.

2. Working with FIA Commissions to develop progressive fuel consumption reduction targets for each FIA Championship and Series.

3. Establishing criteria for acceptable fuels based on legislation/best practice.

4. Reviewing the Recommended Green Racing Protocols document, produced by the Society of Automotive Engineering, to determine potential for harmonisation of protocols.

5. Establishing guidelines and approved auditors and off-setters for carbon neutrality.

6. Developing the principles of a pure energy-efficiency championship, completely open to any power train and any energy source. It must be insensitive to the performance of the vehicle itself. It should encourage competition between Manufacturers, Laboratories, Universities, and individuals, without becoming a spending race.

7. Establishing best environmental practices for circuits and rallies; develop guidelines and training.



8. Coordinating safety regulations for the new technologies entering motor sport.


Calendar

2009 FIA GT Championship



3 May
16 May
21 June
26 July
9 Aug
20 Sept
4 Oct
25 Oct GB
I
D
B
RO
P
F
B Silverstone
Adria
Oschersleben
24 Hrs Spa
Bucharest (city)**
Algarve**
Paul Ricard
Zolder

**subject to the FIA homologation of the circuit.
Changes underlined from previously published calendar

The date for the Rally of Syria, part of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, has been changed to 18-20 June.

The date for the Jordan Rally, part of the 2009 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, has been changed to 29-31 October.

The date for the Baha Portalegre Rally, part of the 2009 FIA International Cup for Baha Rallies Championship, has been changed to 29 October to 1 November


For Media Information Purposes - No Regulatory Value

[Gilles 27]

F*cking hell...

What the hell was wrong with FOTA's points system!? So now points for the title contenders don't even count unless there is a tie!? It's not a bad solution they've come up with, it's just in no way better than FOTA's!


Releasing the weights of the cars is all well and good but still not as good as just getting rid of the rule that makes them run race fuel in Q3!

The WRC is officially ruined forever!


On the other hand, that optional budget cap looks interesting...

[SarahB62]

Max Mosley interview from FIA press release

Press Release
FIA WMSC Agrees F1 Cost Cap - Q&A with FIA President 17/03/2009
Q&A with FIA President Max Mosley

On 17 March, the World Motor Sport Council agreed a radical addendum to the current Formula One Technical Regulations to come into force for 2010. The aim is to make it easier for new teams to enter and also allow existing teams to participate on much reduced budgets should they so choose.

The new approach gives teams a choice. They can either run under the current Technical Regulations (as modified in consultation with FOTA) or have greater technical freedom but be subject to a stringent and rigorously enforced expenditure cap.

In essence, this is a choice between (i) the current freedom to spend and continued adherence to the existing technical constraints and (ii) a new degree of freedom to innovate technically but with a severely restricted budget. The technical freedoms accorded to the low-budget teams will be adjusted from time to time to keep their median performance on a par with the median performance of the unlimited-expenditure teams. The regulations for the unlimited-expenditure teams will remain stable and fixed.

What is the budget figure?

Max Mosley: Provisionally it will be £30 million per two-car team per season (currently €33m, or $42m).

How can you possibly run a Formula One team for that sort of money?

MM: It has been carefully costed. The cars will be much less refined in detail, because the teams will not be able to spend huge sums on minute advantages (for example, $1,200 on a wheel nut which is only used once), but from the grandstand or on television they won't look or sound any less "Formula One" than the current, ultra-expensive cars. They will also be more interesting to the technically-minded because of the special features which will allow them to compete against teams with much bigger budgets. And don't forget that £30 million is still a huge amount of money in the real world.

But surely that budget is not “Formula One”, what about Formula One's DNA?

MM: Keith Duckworth once said "an engineer is someone who can do for one dollar what any idiot can do for a hundred dollars". These rules will encourage clever engineering – success will come to the teams with the best ideas, not only the teams with the most money.

What does the cap include?

MM: Everything except the motor home (if the team has one) and any fine(s) imposed by the FIA. All expenditure will be included, even the salaries of the drivers and team principal. If the team is profitable, it can pay a dividend to its shareholders, who may well include a chief engineer, team principal or even a driver. But we would make sure the team was genuinely making enough profit to cover the dividend.

How can you possibly check? Won’t there be all sorts of under-the-counter payments and avoidance mechanisms?

MM: We went into all this very carefully some time ago. We involved forensic accountants from Deloitte and Touche as well as financial experts from the current teams. The vast majority of payments are traceable and any benefits in kind can be valued. There were a number of meetings. It became clear we could do it. The problem was getting the current teams to agree a figure. Also, the majority wanted a lot of exclusions such as land and buildings, the team principal's salary and the drivers. We would also need the right to carry out very intrusive audits and impose severe penalties for overspend. However these difficulties no longer arise because each team will now be able to choose whether or not to run under the cost cap.

What about the engine?

MM: The engine will comply with current rules, except that there will be no rev limit and no development freeze. However, the entire engine expenditure will come out of the cap. If the engine is supplied by an outside commercial entity or another team, we will have to be satisfied that there is no hidden subsidy. If a team has its own engine, we will check its full cost just as we will the rest of the car. The current rule limiting manufacturers to supplying engines to one additional team each will remain in place.

But surely this is going in the opposite direction to your cost cuts?

MM: No. If a team's total expenditure is limited, the money is saved so detailed regulation aimed at saving cost in specific areas are no longer needed. A team could spend £20 million a year on its engine but would then have only £10 million left for everything else. It would probably not be competitive. The same applies to the other restrictions which will be swept away for the cost-capped teams such as limits on wind tunnel use, testing, exotic materials or giant computers (subject of course to current safety requirements). They can even spend on private jets and luxury hotels. But whatever they spend must come out of the £30 million.

What technical and other freedoms will the cost-capped teams have which are not available to the other teams?

MM: A different (but standard) under body, movable wings, no engine rev limit, no restriction on the number or type of updates, no homologation requirements, no limits on materials, testing, simulators, wind tunnels and so forth - most of the cost saving measures introduced over the last few years will not apply to these teams. However measures to save money during the race weekend, such as the ban on refuelling and the Saturday parc fermé, will apply to both categories of team. We are also thinking about a much bigger capacity KERS for the cost-capped teams. But all this must be covered by the £30 million - no exceptions and no free or subsidised outside help. Anything supplied by another team or an outside supplier will be included at its full commercial cost except for items supplied to all teams at subsidised rates under the single supplier arrangements negotiated by the FIA (e.g. for tyres), which allow all teams to benefit equally from reduced costs.

But isn't that unfair? With a specially shaped under body and movable wings won't these cars have an unfair advantage?

MM: No, we will make sure these advantages do no more than balance the disadvantages the cost-capped teams will have because of their very restricted budgets. As said, we will balance the median performances by adjusting the cost-capped cars should this prove necessary. The other cars will have stable technical regulations in return for which we understand FOTA intend to provide guarantees of continuing participation until 2012, underwritten by the major car manufacturers. The FIA has a lot of experience in performance adjustment and equivalence.

Could a team use the standard KERS proposed by FOTA?

MM: It could, but again this would have to come out of the £30 million. We are not keen on the idea of a standard KERS, because this is an area in which Formula One can innovate in a way that is road-relevant. But nothing in our current rules stops groupings of teams from agreeing parameters for KERS if they wish, because KERS is not compulsory. Perhaps the cost-capped teams will innovate in this area despite their restricted budgets.

Could a cost capped car win a race or even the Championship?

MM: There is no reason why cost-capped teams could not win races. The massive and highly organised unlimited-expenditure teams are perhaps likely to do a better job of going racing. They will have the most expensive race engineers and tacticians not to mention the top-earning drivers. However, racing is (and should be) unpredictable.

What about things you haven't thought of?

MM: We will have a catch-all clause for the cost-capped teams enabling us to stop anything which goes against the spirit of the cost cap and allow us to rule definitively on any unforeseen problem. The unlimited-expenditure teams however will benefit from absolutely stable technical rules. Rule stability is part of the above-mentioned deal which FOTA are arranging with the major car manufacturers.

Surely with the FOTA teams cutting expenditure by 50% in 2010 and further cuts in the pipeline for 2011, all this is unnecessary?

MM: Back in December when we met the teams in Monaco, we would have agreed. However, the world-wide economic crisis has worsened very significantly since then. No-one can say the situation will not deteriorate further in the coming months. If this happens, we may lose other manufacturers or even independent teams, despite their best intentions. If we wait and things get worse, it will be too late. Conversely, if economic conditions suddenly improve, we will at least have some new blood in Formula One. It is obviously the FIA's duty to try to plan for the worst case rather than just hope for the best.

When will you publish detailed regulations?

MM: Shortly after the World Motor Sport Council meeting of 17 March.

When will teams be able to enter?

MM: As soon as the regulations are published.

But FOTA have not yet finalised their detailed proposals.

MM: We cannot wait, because new teams wishing to enter the 2010 Championship will need to start work immediately. FOTA have already given us their main ideas, we understand that the outstanding matters are more minor. Also, provided they comply with all relevant laws, rules and regulations and observe the spirit of sporting competition, there is nothing to stop some FOTA members agreeing among themselves to observe certain rules or conventions provided these do not affect anyone else.

What will you do if you receive more serious applications than there are spaces?

MM: We are going to ask the World Motor Sport Council to agree to increase the number of teams allowed to participate (currently 12) provided the Safety Commission is satisfied that circuit safety has progressed to the point where this would pose no safety problem. Each entrant will also have to satisfy us that they have a source for an engine and transmission.

Do you not fear that sponsors will reduce payments if they know teams cost less to run?

MM: No. Sponsors will pay what the brand exposure on offer is worth to them. Competitors in sports like tennis or golf earn large sums despite their costs being minimal compared to Formula One. Sponsors in the current climate are more likely to be repelled by obvious profligacy than by a budget cap.

Will the cost-capped teams score points and be eligible for payments from FOM on the same basis as the other teams?

MM: Yes, the cost-capped teams and their drivers will participate fully in the FIA Formula One World Championship. We understand that FOM will pay the cost-capped teams on the same basis as other teams and will also provide $10 million plus the standard transport package for the 11th and 12th teams starting in 2010.



For Media Information Purposes - No Regulatory Value.

[Frosty]

Point system is crap should be the FOTA one! The cost capping system they are proposing is beyond being mindlessly stupid!

[Jensonb]

What a bloody shambles. A nonsensical points system and a 2-Class Formula 1.

Unbe-freaking-lievable.

Incidentally, what happens to a team which spends less than the Cap without agreeing to it? Which class do they build their car to and whichever one it is, how is that fair?

[Denthúl]

Why did FOTA actually accept this, then?

[Gilles 27]

yeh that is a point...

[Jensonb]

Why did FOTA actually accept this, then?

FOTA doesn't get to accept or refuse, only suggest

[f1ea]

Still have no idea what the new weirdo WDC scoring system will turn out to be...
But they are allowing for underbody aerodynamics, movable wings and floors, unrestricted RPMs and no more engine freeze. At least these are nice steps.

Maybe now there will be golf-ball like dimples on the underbody as Darwin dali suggested a while ago ?

[Denthúl]

Why did FOTA actually accept this, then?

FOTA doesn't get to accept or refuse, only suggest

They have more power than the FIA. If only they would realise it...