The rules so far from www.grandprix.com ********** There is a certain amount of confusion in Formula 1 circles about some of the plans for next season with particular fogginess in relation to testing, third cars and so on. Our understanding is that the following will be happening: Teams will be allowed to run 30,000km of tests in the calendar year. At the same time there will be a restriction of 300 sets of tyres. There are not going to be any third cars allowed but on Fridays at Grands Prix (Thursday in the case of Monaco) teams will be allowed to run their cars free of engine restrictions and using any drivers they want to run, on the understanding that the driver in question has a superlicence. These tests will be in addition to the 30,000km limit. At the moment Bridgestone is busy negotiating to try to make sure that the teams all attend the same tests to avoid the need to send tyres here and there for different tests. This is obviously made rather less easy by the fact that Ferrari has its own test tracks in Italy and Paul Ricard has a contractual arrangement with Toyota. In the longer term, the F1 Technical Working Group will soon start work discussing the aerodynamic rules for 2009 as it is now clear that the 2007 rules will be carried through into 2008 after the much-vaunted CDG wing was rejected by all concerned. Work will also begin next week on the new energy-saving ideas that the FIA wants in 2009. There is also some discussion about the rules of engine supply in 2008 as the GPMA teams have apparently agreed that they will supply only their own teams plus one customer. This however does not cover Ferrari and one must presume that if push comes to shove Renault will circumvent the situation by arguing that Mecachrome is also not a manufacturer. There are also questions over restriction on the supply of chassis in 2007 - in addition to the ongoing arguments about 2008 and beyond - as both Red Bull and Honda are apparently planning to circumvent the Concorde Agreement which restricts a team to using only chassis to which it holds the intellectual property rights. The way to achieve this is to have the intellectual property rights to a chassis owned by an umbrella organisation as the Concorde Agreement does not say that companies cannot own more than one team. Thus if Red Bull owns the IPR to a chassis it can supply that chassis to both its teams as long as they manufacture the chassis themselves. ********** What a mess!?!?!
You can write that again! If a team has money, let them spend it testing. I guess the FIA does not want a car to be too safe or too reliable. They can alway point to Toyota and compare their record with Renault and show that money does not equal wins. I would like to even see more tire manuafactures in the fray rather than just one. The more variables the better
2008 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY LIST Q & A WITH FIA PRESIDENT MAX MOSLEY 28.04.2006 Why was Prodrive chosen to be the 12th team? Prodrive has the best combination of financial backing, technical capability and motor sport experience and is well known to the FIA through its participation in the World Rally Championship. Also, Prodrives chief executive, David Richards, has experience as a Formula One team principal. What was the process the FIA went through to reach this decision? After the World Motor Sport Council decided that entries for the 2008 Championship would open on 24 March 2006 and close on 31 March 2006 we informed all of the current teams as well as other organisations we knew to be interested. We also issued a press release to inform anyone else who might want to tender an entry. We soon received applications from the 11 current Formula One teams as well as another 11 teams. Where necessary, we wrote to teams to ask for further information about their financial position and experience in running motor sport operations. Once we had gathered all the information we informed the World Council of the list of potential entries. A fax vote ensued and Prodrive was chosen as the 12th team. The World Council concurred that there was no reason not to accept the current teams as they are already in the championship and have confirmed their ability to compete effectively. Prodrive was chosen mainly because of its financial position, capabilities and experience. Were you surprised by how many teams wanted to enter the championship? I was delighted but not entirely surprised. Formula One is the pinnacle of motor sport and thanks to the new regulations brought in for 2008 it is potentially open to more teams. What pleased me most was the high calibre of entries received. With this kind of demand Formula One has a bright future. Why do you think there was such a significant response? Hopefully because of the new rules weve introduced to the sport. The 2008 Sporting Regulations have reduced the cost of competing and should improve the sporting spectacle at the same time. It makes for a very attractive prospect. Will there be room for more teams in future or is 12 the maximum? The limit of 12 teams was imposed for safety reasons and circuit facilities, pit garages, etc, are designed for this number. It would be very difficult to enlarge the facilities and we would also have to look very carefully at the safety issue. The number is unlikely to increase. What have you said to the teams that didnt make it this time? We informed all the teams that were not successful, although we did not tell them which teams were. We asked them to keep in touch in case a vacancy occurred. ********* If you look at the above interview, Max still thinks that the fans understand what the heck is going on with these new rules! This is becoming like a card game with new rules with each hand that is dealt! One year we will have six sets of rules and then we can pick one just 24 hours before the race! That should improve the spectacle of racing!
If the Friday session will be unrestricted, I wonder why they wouldn't still allow a 3rd driver to do some or all of the work? I know they want the stars on track, but I think this is a good way to familiarize the fans with the "other guys", and also to showcase the talents of drivers who may otherwise go unnoticed. Did you happen to see anything about their feelings on the 2-race engine rule? I'd like to see that go.
From what I understand the 2 race engine rule stays the same for 2007! That is another rule which makes no sense! 90% of F1 fans have no clue whether a racer is on the first race or second race with their engine! Knowledgeable fans! WHY!? Why would you want the fans to know which racer is on what engine!?! Why share that fans so that they can understand the reason why the team has chosen to attack or take it easy by nursing a tired engine!?! These rules are a mess! Just a question of when fans begin to show it in lost revenue!
I like the fact that Friday will be run without engine restrictions. This is only fair for spectators at the circuit. Spending the big bucks and watching them do 15laps on a Friday is pathetic. Having a free test session and doing say 60 laps is a lot better.
well, i disagree. i mean, what ur saying has a point. but i'd personally prefer meet the fans session. rather than friday tests...
Since they want red tires, I'm surprised they don't do something dumb like have the engines turn color during their second stint.
That is not a bad idea at all... there should be a clear indication in the car if the engine is on its forst race or second race! At least fans will know what is going on!
LOL! I was joking when I initially wrote that, but you're actually right. If they're going to keep that ridiculous rule, they should make a bigger deal out of communicating who's on a fresh vs. old engine to the fans.
