[Racer Duck]

FIA president Max Mosley confirmed that a budget cap will be in effect for all Formula One teams starting in 2009. All F1 team principals received the letter from the sanctioning body outlining what will be on the list of restrictions and what will not be included.

The actual details of the letter were not spelled out for the public or the press, but it was apparent that the letter was a summary of what was decided upon at a meeting at the FIA headquarters in Paris, France last week.


Areas that will be excluded from the proposed restrictions include engines, marketing/promotion, drivers' salaries and team principals' remuneration costs. Mosley did indicate that they will include wind tunnel and CFD usage.


Reacting to the summary of the letter were several of the teams, including BMW Motorsport director and BMW Suber team principal Mario Theissen who stated: "If a team decides to spend a lot of money on drivers, it should be possible for another team to spend a lot of money on a computer or a wind tunnel."


more...

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

FIA president Max Mosley confirmed that a budget cap will be in effect for all Formula One teams starting in 2009. All F1 team principals received the letter from the sanctioning body outlining what will be on the list of restrictions and what will not be included.

The actual details of the letter were not spelled out for the public or the press, but it was apparent that the letter was a summary of what was decided upon at a meeting at the FIA headquarters in Paris, France last week.


Areas that will be excluded from the proposed restrictions include engines, marketing/promotion, drivers' salaries and team principals' remuneration costs. Mosley did indicate that they will include wind tunnel and CFD usage.


Reacting to the summary of the letter were several of the teams, including BMW Motorsport director and BMW Suber team principal Mario Theissen who stated: "If a team decides to spend a lot of money on drivers, it should be possible for another team to spend a lot of money on a computer or a wind tunnel."


more...

When I read the first paragraph I thought, "Oh boy! How are they going to enforce this, but if they do enforce it, it might prove to be a plus for all major league racing.

Then I read the rest and gave it some thought. What is the cap? $100 million? $500 million? Also how do you separate factory resources? For example, the factories can "hide" a multitude of costs in their own in-factory development centers.

I'll be very interested in seeing how, or even if, Mosley actually implements this rule with anything other than token effort. I think it may be like NA__AR's Chosen Rule. F1 knows it has a big problem but chooses to address the problem with mostly lip service.

[DOF_power]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

When I read the first paragraph I thought, "Oh boy! How are they going to enforce this, but if they do enforce it, it might prove to be a plus for all major league racing.

Then I read the rest and gave it some thought. What is the cap? $100 million? $500 million?

150 million is the limit.

Also how do you separate factory resources? For example, the factories can "hide" a multitude of costs in their own in-factory development centers.

I'll be very interested in seeing how, or even if, Mosley actually implements this rule with anything other than token effort. I think it may be like NA__AR's Chosen Rule. F1 knows it has a big problem but chooses to address the problem with mostly lip service.

I would prefer budget caps to freezes and bans. F1 needs to be more innovation and a lot less waste.