Formula One

[TheLegend96]

I found this in the Houston Chronicle...thought it was interesting in a league that definetly needs some type of restrictions to make it more competative.

 

By JOHN LEICESTER

Associated Press Writer

 

 

 

 

 

MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) -- Formula One approved changes Tuesday to make racing more affordable for underfinanced teams hoping to compete with free-spending Ferrari and six-time champion Michael Schumacher.

 

That combination is unbeaten in four races this season and has dominated the circuit for several years largely because it outspends the others. The changes - many expected to take effect next year - involve cars, engines and tires.

 

"The basic idea is to make the racing closer and more interesting, and I think we'll succeed in that," said Max Mosley, head of the International Automobile Federation, the sport's governing body. "Whether it will be close enough remains to be seen."

 

F1 also is concerned that Ferrari's dominance could reduce the size of a TV audience bored by races with little overtaking or exciting wheel-to-wheel racing.

 

"They've got to come up with something much better than we've got," Mosley said.

 

One of the most radical measures would put all teams on the same tires, possibly as early as 2006. That would end the competition between tire manufacturers Bridgestone and Michelin and save teams the cost of extensive testing to find the best combinations.

 

Spare cars, which drivers fall back on if they crash, could be banned next year, Mosley said.

 

Teams meeting in Monaco also agreed to reduce the power of engines and make them last longer than one race. Teams also agreed to use standard brakes, while expensive electronic driver aids "are definitely going to go," Mosley said.

 

"Except for minor details, there's virtually complete acceptance of these very revolutionary proposals," he said. "I couldn't have asked for more from the meeting."

 

Richer teams spend heavily on finding new technologies, lighter materials and electronic gizmos that give their cars an edge. Critics argue that gives the richest teams an unfair advantage, places a premium on technicians rather than driver skills and discourages new teams from venturing into the costly world of F1.

 

"Everybody feels instinctively that Formula One would be better and stronger and more credible if we had one or two new teams coming in," Mosley said. There's a need for new teams. It's possible that we might see a new team in as early as 2005."

 

F1 would like to restore the starting grid to 24 cars. It fell to 20 in recent seasons when the Arrows and Prost teams folded.

 

Ferrari is believed to have a budget of $450 million a year for its two cars - perhaps 10 times as much as a competitive two-car NASCAR Nextel Cup operation. The Minardi F1 team, virtually always near the back of the grid, operates on about $35 million a year.

 

As much as $1.2 billion a year is spent on engines for 14 of the 20 F1 cars that currently race, Mosley said - an amount he called "simply not sustainable."

 

He said engine companies agreed to work out measures to cut engine costs by 50 percent. All 10 two-car teams represented at the meeting said they were satisfied.

 

"I was enormously pleased," said Eddie Jordan, whose team has struggled. "It was all one-sided, very positive about cost savings, the key factor."

 

David Richards of BAR-Honda expects fans to be as satisfied as the teams themselves.

 

"There wasn't any real argument on any issue," he said.

 

Mosley also said teams have to formulate new qualifying rules and expressed optimism that some changes could be introduced this year.

 

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[sfrebel]

doesn't this go against the basic philosophy of F1 racing?

 

I guess they are changing their philosophy then in order to promote closer racing

[Tim]

I used to follow F1 very closely when I lived in England. I hated it when I first watched a few races, then I loved it. Not getting to watch NASCAR every Sunday made me appreciate other types of racing. Schumacher's team might have an unlimited budget, but I am willing to bet that not everyone could be as dominate as he is in that car. He truly is one of the best and smartest drivers in the world. F1 is definately an elite racing division, if you want to call it that and I think some change would be good to make it better for others teams, but its going to take a lot more to make the other cars faster and heck of a lot more to try and slow Schumacher down.

 

Tim

 

Everybody hates a winner...

[tqj3]

I started watching Formula 1 more years ago than I care to remember. In fact, the second car race I ever saw was a Formula 1 race in Germany. The reason Formula 1 is the most important racing series in the world is because that's where the world driving championship is determined. (Ask anyone who the world champion driver is, and you'll get back, "Michael Schumacher.")

It has a reputation as a high-tech series, but that's only recently, and simply a fairly natural progression.

The problem with a high-tech series is that, taken to its extreme, you'd have a road-going version of an F-16: a car that has to be reigned in by technology to keep from killing the driver.

That's part of the move to make changes in F1: the cars are getting into blackout territory for the drivers, and that's on road courses. (TV just can't give you any idea of just how FAST these suckers will corner.)

In addition, if it's a drivers' championship, what are we doing with launch control and traction control and anti-lock brakes and all that jazz? Yes, Schumacher is good, but is he really that much better, or is the Ferrari just that much better? He's going to get the best car, but despite that, Barrichello often runs just as quick.

The bottom line is that if you don't reign in the high-tech whizbang, you'll end up with the world's most expensive video game, and the "world champion" will be some computer nerd from New Jersey or New Delhi.

[Jason]

Actually the latest rule changes will be to bring down costs and not to slow down the cars. After Senna died they began making changes to slow the cars down and that is one of the reasons they no longer run slicks. I think Bernie and Max finally understand that the TV ratings will be gone if nothing changes so they have to mix it up a bit to promote better competition. Yes, Michael Shumacher is an awesome driver. I remember seeing him way back in the day running his Ford powered Beneton and he won then. This guy has pure talent and he is with a team that will spend as much as it wants. Bottom line is most manufacturers race to sell cars. Ferrari sells cars to race. It is hard to compete against someone like that.