GO TO EARLIER STORY GO TO THE NEWS INDEX GO TO NEXT STORY Mosley: Standard engine will stabilize F1
By Pablo Elizalde
FIA president Max Mosley is adamant that the introduction of a standard engine in Formula One will help stabilize the sport. "We need dramatically to cut costs and get innovation back into Formula One," said Mosley, speaking at the Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco today. "We must stabilize the system with a base engine which anyone can have and which is inexpensive, as well as a standard gearbox. "That will stabilize Formula One until we can bring in new energy-efficient engines which undoubtedly will be the future. "But I would hate anyone to think that we want Formula One to lose sight of one of its main objectives, which is to remain the pinnacle of motor racing technology. If properly managed the regulations will ensure that this continues to be the case." The sport looks likely to accept the introduction of a cheap, standard engine today, with Mosley meeting with representatives of the Formula One Teams' Association. Five teams, including Renault, are believed to be interested in singing up for the standard engine idea, which is aimed at reducing costs drastically. Today's meeting comes less than a week after Honda announced its withdrawal from Formula One. Mosley warned that, given the current financial crisis, more manufactures could follow the Japanese car maker. "Honda pulled out because of falling car sales and there is no guarantee that these falling sales, which affect all manufacturers, will not drop further," he added. "If they do then we have to prepare for other manufacturers to pull out not only from Formula One but other areas of motor sport as well. "But what is wrong with Formula One today was wrong before any of the present economic problems cropped up. Essentially it's the rules, which have become ever more restrictive compressing the work of the engineers into an ever smaller area. "As such, success in F1 today consists of optimizing every single part of the chassis to the ultimate degree and that is both extremely expensive and utterly pointless." Mosley was also critical of those teams calling for a delay or a ban to the introduction of the KERS systems next year. "We've finally found a serious engineering challenge for the teams in KERS," Mosley said. "Some manufacturers have risen to this challenge, one manufacturer has produced electric systems which will astonish people when they appear, another team is working on a completely new technology which will also astonish people. "But some leading teams, such as Ferrari, have said that they don't like KERS because it is 'too complicated'. Could you imagine the great F1 engineers like (Lotus founder, Colin) Chapman or (Cosworth co-founder, Keith) Duckworth saying 'I can't do that because it is too complicated'? "It is a symptom of a disease in F1 where incremental change becomes the whole object of the exercise and real serious innovation plays no part." Go to earlier story Go to the News Index Go to next story
Cosworth's 2004 Champ Car engine 
Formula One looks set to enter an era of standardised engines. The FIA is meeting with teams in Monte Carlo and is expected to approve the use by some teams of a standardised power unit provided by Cosworth, an automotive engineering company, from 2010 onwards. The move to a standard engine, which is common in lower tiers of open wheeled racing such as GP2, was pushed for by FIA President Max Mosley earlier this year as he aims to reduce team costs. This would not see the exclusion of manufacturer made engines, as at this time participation in the system would be voluntary and teams would be free to build licensed Cosworth engines or their own powerplants but on a performance par with the Cosworth unit. Mosley has stated that stabilising Formula One means that the FIA "...must stabilize the system with a base engine which anyone can have and which is inexpensive, as well as a standard gearbox" and has warned of future budget problems, saying that "Honda pulled out because of falling car sales and there is no guarantee that these falling sales, which affect all manufacturers, will not drop further".

Ahead of the meeting of the FIA there have been rumours in the Italian press that Formula One team Renault had broken with the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA), rumours which Renault has strongly denied. FOTA was established earlier this year by the teams to negotiate with the FIA over cost cutting measures and other changes, changes it hopes will stop the introduction of compulsory standardisation of engines and other parts on F1 cars. The FOTA's position was hard hit last week by the announcement by Honda that they were leaving F1 due to the economic crisis, a move which has caused many teams to re-assert their commitment to a future in Formula One. David Richards, whose Prodrive entry to Formula One was called off last season due to costs, highlighted what he sees as the need for fundamental changes, saying that Honda's exit was 'a salutary lesson for the whole of F1 that things are going to have to change, and everything is going to have to come back a little bit if the whole sport is to prosper in the future'.

Five teams have reportedly expressed an interest in the Cosworth engines from the 2010 season, the five being all four independent teams (Williams, Force India, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso) joined by manufacturer Renault. If only four teams sign up to the idea, the FIA has announced it will go ahead. Renault have been highly vocal in criticising the failure of the engine development freeze that has existed in Formula One and have, after a couple of seasons of struggling, been under pressure from their parent company to justify the continued expenditure in Formula One. Cosworth have previously been prolific engine suppliers in Formula One, their last stint was supplying engines to Williams in 2006.

The talks come as many of the Formula One teams are in Jerez for part of their winter testing regime, with potential Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Buemi topping the time sheets for the first two days.