FIA slashes team budgets-Shock Horror!

[Marbot]

Pretty much every site is running this story now.But basicly they are going to cut budgets by aroud 60% for a top team for the 2008 season.How they will do this is open to question.Your thoughts comrades.

[Hein]

Originally Posted by martyn bott

Pretty much every site is running this story now.But basicly they are going to cut budgets by aroud 60% for a top team for the 2008 season.How they will do this is open to question.Your thoughts comrades.

Seeing is believing I always say....

[garcon]

A step in the right direction, if agreement is reached. It will hopefully generate more interest, and give us the potential for a full grid (i.e. 24 cars) for the first time in years (maybe not immediately, but perhaps soon thereafter).

[Inigo Montoya]

Can they do this? Limit a manufacturer's investment in their racing program? And if they can legally do it, how the heck would they police it (as martyn implies)? From reading the press release, it sounds to me like the FIA is using this as a threat to try to get the teams to agree to cost cutting measures. "Agree or we'll impose a budget constraint."

[Pingguest]

Best measures to reduce the costs directly and indirecty is:

- introduction of a standard ECU;
- allow teams to buy and sell chassis, parts and designs;
- encourage engine manufactures to supply to at least two teams;
- a ban on refuelling and repeal the ban on tyre changes.

These measures will only have a positive effect on the racing. I don't think the one engine rule and the ban on tyre changes had a positive effect on the racing.

[Louis B.]

OYE! OYE! OYE! After speed limiters and traction controll, the FIA is proud to introduce its cash-flow-limiter. Effective henceforth, all sponsors' monies will be routed via the FIA which, for a nominal administration fee of 25%, will disburse it to the team so sponsored against presentation of acceptable vouchers in triplicate (i.e. one for the administration, the second for Bernie's income tax returns and the third to Ferrari such that they know what the competition is doing with their monies).

[garcon]

That could work...

[Menelaos]

You know, the most important thing about all these ideas is not coming up with a fantastic way to make the sport work better. What needs to be done is the FIA to come up with SOME ideas that will be planned carefully and will actually LAST. Now, cutting costs is great, but trying to police that nobody invests more than a certain ammount is totally utopic. There's just no way. And suppose you can do this for a small team like Minardi. Mercedes, BMW, Toyota such manufacturers can easily develop products for F1 as "by-products" of their general development.

[Adam43]

They have seen the manufacturer proposals for 2008 and said "nice, but it doesn't cut costs". On top of that apparently all are saying costs need to be cut.

[Marbot]

Considering that all this has to be finalized by the end of the year,i think we're in for a fair bit of politicing yet.The only two teams that seem to be in favour of this are Ferrari and Renault the latter aren't doing too badly on their current budget,the former,not too good.But i'm sure that they could all get along just fine on Minardi's budget.

[Pingguest]

Here is a link to very intersting article about the cost-cutting measures:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns15592.html

[Kicking-back]

Flavio Britatore, who runs a manufacturer team, says costs must be cut.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Pingguest

Here is a link to very intersting article about the cost-cutting measures:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns15592.html

I was just going to post that pingguest.

[ss_collins]

I have a deadline in 3 days - and it all kicks off just before. great.

[richard_sykes]

Prehaps the teams will be givena Suzuki liana to modify and race?

[Menelaos]

nah, modifications are very expensive....

[Marbot]

According to "Flav" GP2 runs on 0.65% of the budget of F1,so it's not the end of the world is it.

[emjaya]

But GP2 is a spec chassis,tyre and engine,is that the future for F1?

[BootsOntheSide]

It's a shame the teams haven't managed to reach a mutualy-agreeable combination themselves, but ultiamtely they've tended to put self-interest above common good. Changes like reducing aerodynamic grip and introducing spec ECUs are a good start. Ultimately Minardi spend 1/10 of what Ferrari spend, yet are only a few seconds a lap slower, despite having less infrastructure and a smaller and (as a rule) less capable team of staff, so there's clealry potential to slash the costs without slowing the cars or scuppering the quality of racing.

[Gerben24]

I've mentioned the quote below before and people didn't believe me it was true, but something needs to be done about this:

"By far the biggest source of discontent that exists in the sport is the fact that Ferrari gets more money than the other teams, even if it does not perform."

It is a line out of the grandprix.com article.

[Menelaos]

Agreed.

[Joe Taylor]

Originally Posted by richard_sykes

Prehaps the teams will be givena Suzuki liana to modify and race?

Will the British Grand Prix be held at the Top Gear test track if that happens?

[Marbot]

They just won't leave the rules alone will they!

[Marbot]

Official FIA press release here.