Formula One teams and  management and the FIA have been trying to design a plan that would cut costs and allow small budget teams to sustain hard economic times and be able to compete with bigger budget teams.  Lowering the cost of participating in the sport in theory, should also help attract new teams and ensure a full grid with less attrition due to financial strain.  Formula One has seen several independent teams disappear over the years as large global car manufacturers have entered the sport.  It was close to impossible for these independent teams to complete with the manufacturers and their hundreds of million dollar budgets used for research and development etc…

The Money:

Basically, teams will be give the choice to either spend unlimited amounts and be forced to adhere to the existing technical constraints OR experience a new degree of innovative technical freedom, however, under a severely restricted spending cap.

There will be an option for F1 teams to adhere to a £30 million cap as of next year however there is no official requirement to do so.   Teams will be allowed spend the previously mentioned figure, and be granted a more aerodynamically efficient (but standard) under body, movable wings and an engine which is not subject to a rev limit or a development freeze. The teams that choose to spend an unlimited amount will not have these freedoms and will be forced to build their challengers following much more stringent rules defined by the FIA.   

The £30 million cap must include all expenditures. Anything supplied for free will be calculated to have a cost (at its full commercial value). Teams will be subject and forced to follow strict auditing procedures. These changes are to take effect for the 2010 season.

The Sport:

In 2009, Championships will be awarded based on number of race wins instead of final point total.  In the past this was (somewhat) accomplished by the points system which defined a larger gap between first and second place.  Essentially, allowing those that won more races to amass more points.  As the current point system remains unchanged, the new regulations will push those drivers in the hunt for the championship to push for victory.  An example of how this new rule would have applied to last year’s championship would see Ferrari’s Felipe Massa as Champion with 6 race victories and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton runner-up with 5 race victories (notwithstanding the fact that Lewis finished the season ahead of Massa in total points scored).  An argument can be made for both sides of this rule and both would be valid. 

Public Relations:

The FIA has announced that will make the weights of all cars after qualifying for each grand prix available to the public this season.  This would allow for a “fuel-corrected” grid to be calculated. Currently the minimum weight restriction is 650kg.  By publishing the weight, it would allow the public to speculate which teams may be running the new 35Kg KERS, which may push some past the minimum weight requirements.  It might also allow for some to speculate who might be running short versus long stints and which pit strategy is in play.  This allows the public to participate in the virtual chess game and strategic warfare in play at any given Grand Prix.

Drivers will also be made more available to the media and fans.  They will now be more available for autograph sessions in designated pit-lane areas. Drivers eliminated in qualifying must make themselves available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session AND all drivers retiring before the end of the race or outside of the top three on race day must make themselves available for media interviews. On race day, every team must make at least one senior spokesperson available for TV interviews by approved and accredit TV crews.

Personal Views:

While I personally do not agree with all of the regulation changes, I truly believe that some of these changes may help bring F1 closer to the its adoring fans and may generally make the sport more exciting.

The spending cap is ridiculously low.  While it successfully achieves the cost cutting measures so desperately sought after by the FIA, it might be more effective to have somewhat relaxed regulations and a hard cap at £100 for everyone across the board.  However, before making any hard decisions on this, I will wait to see how these new rules and regulations play out.

It is also the opinion of this reporter, that while “Total Points Scored” is the widely accepted and traditional method of choosing a champion, the new regulations should theoretically punish those drivers that may be ahead in the points and decide to cruise around and bank “safe” points instead of pushing for victory.  At the end of the day, racing fans want to see hard fought victories and…well….good old fashioned motor racing. Not everyone loves a parade!

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