Ecclestone outlines Formula One plan
Under a Formula One “survival" plan being drawn up by Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial rights holder, and Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, the engines would each be designed to last for half the season and would potentially reduce the hugely expensive cost of powering the race cars by up to 90 per cent within two years.
Inquiries by The Times have established that Ecclestone and Mosley are planning draconian reforms that will be imposed on the teams as the sport faces up to its environmental responsibility and the imperative to cut costs.
At present, engine development in Formula One is frozen for five years in a regime that started last year. But they are still units that are designed by each team and they are able to be replaced after every two races, so teams and manufacturers are spending tens of millions of pounds each season on “drive-train costs", which includes spending on engines and gearboxes.
Under the new proposals there will be one standard engine specification, which each team will be able to build, but it will be identical to those of their rivals. The only difference will be the manufacturer’s name on the block. Teams without manufacturer support will have access to the same engine through an independent contractor.
The proposals represent a huge cultural and philosophical shift for an elitist sport that has always been seen as not only a competition between the best drivers in the world but a battle between some of the best engine and car manufacturers, most of whom have long and proud traditions in motor sport.
Ecclestone, who has never been one to worry about sentimentality, is determined that this reform will be put in place by the beginning of the 2010 season and that it will not fall by the wayside, as many apparently radical proposals in Formula One have done in the past.
“The thing I am most excited about is pushing and pushing and pushing the homologated engine idea," he said yesterday, during the build-up to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji. “The new engine will be equalized and there will only be two engine changes a year, so costs are going to dramatically come down, and I mean dramatically." London Times
[Editor's Note: AutoRacing1.com proposed Champ Car implement such a plan years ago to save money and the very same manufacturers (Honda, Toyota and Mercedes, only Ford told us yes) told us they would never put their name on an engine that is not their own will now eat their words and buy into our 5-year old idea. The IRL should implement common engines in its new 2011 cars as well.]