Mosley says rules 'a major step forward'

FIA president Max Mosley believes the radical cost-cutting measures ratified today are a double success for Formula One - because they will secure the sport's future and not rob it any of its appeal.

The FIA ratified a raft of proposals, including an in-season testing ban and major cut backs on aerodynamic development, in a World Motor Sport Council meeting after they had been agreed between Mosley and the teams earlier this week.

And Mosley thinks F1 has moved a lot closer to being able to feel confident about the future in the wake of the growing worldwide economic crisis.

"It's a major step forward," Mosley was quoted as saying by the Press Association. "Obviously there is a crisis because of the falling car sales with the major manufacturers, and nobody knows if it will get worse before it gets better. We need to take care of that contingency.

"If a miracle happened and the whole world situation sorted itself out in the next couple of months, then all that would happen would be the teams would make a profit. But what's significant about these changes is when you walk down the pit lane, or you sit in the grandstand or watch on television, you will notice no difference at all.

"It will be Formula One as we all know it, but clearly much less expensive."

Mosley conceded that one of the consequences of the new regulations will be a number of job losses in the sport, with teams likely to be cut back from their current 700-1000 workforce down to around 200 over the next few years.

"What the teams are saying is what they will try and do is bring in-house a lot of work that they currently contract out," stated Mosley. "But inevitably, in any industry, if you reduce the costs then you reduce the number of people.

"There are some obvious immediate losses because at the moment they take people to every race to do nothing except spot the fuel and tyres of the other teams. Those people will disappear because they're now going to share the information.

"But unfortunately, job losses, that's just part of cutting costs. But if you see it from the other point of view, they currently employ between 700 and 1000 people just to put two cars on the grid. In any event that is not sustainable.

"Even if nothing was wrong with the economy worldwide, it couldn't possibly operate at that level for very long."

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