FOTA shares FIA's cost cut aims

Formula One teams are more than willing to work with the FIA to help reduce budgets in the sport, after playing down any suggestion there is conflict with the governing body about implementing cost cutting measures.

FIA president Max Mosley wrote to the teams earlier this week urging them to see through a number of rule changes that were rubber-stamped at the end of last year to help cut costs.

Although the letter suggests that teams are under pressure to continue making progress, ahead of a meeting at a Heathrow hotel today, senior figures with the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) insists there is nothing but 'constructive' discussion between the teams and the FIA.

A McLaren spokesman told autosport.com: "I can confirm that McLaren, along with all the teams, are attending a FOTA meeting today at a Heathrow hotel.

"Inevitably, Max's letter to the teams of January 5 will be discussed constructively in the context of aims shared by FOTA and the FIA in respect of cost-cutting initiatives, environmental initiatives and initiatives designed to improve the spectacle of Grand Prix racing generally."

Ferrari, whose president Luca di Montezemolo is chairman of FOTA, added: "We fully share McLaren's statement."

The teams and the FIA agreed a whole host of measures to reduce costs in December - including a reduction in wind tunnel use, extended engine life and a huge cut back in testing.

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Bridgestone downplays degradation issues

Bridgestone is confident that teams will quickly adapt to the challenges of setting up their cars to work with the new slick tyres, despite complaints of chronic rear degradation in earlier testing.

The switch to slicks has not resulted in a change in tyre dimensions, which means the contact patch at the front has increased more than the rear - leading to increased oversteer.

This characteristic resulted in drivers struggling with heavy rear tyre wear over long runs during early winter testing last year.

But Bridgestone's motorsport chief engineer Jun Matsuzaki is confident that teams will get to grips with the issue before the start of the season.

"It is still early days for the teams working on their understanding of the slick tyres and the aerodynamic regulations, so we would expect improvements in all areas of how teams use their tyres," Matsuzaki told autosport.com.

"Jerez's circuit layout is one which is harsh on the rear tyres. Also, Jerez in December is colder than we will see during the season, so there was graining on the rear tyres and this led to greater degradation than we would see in warmer weather.

"Tyre dimension is a factor, but tyre compound and construction play a big part too. The construction of the rear tyres was upgraded for the move to slicks to maintain the balance of fronts and rears.

"The balance of the grip created by tyres is still a little on the oversteer side, but this is something which will be countered by car set-up as teams learn how best to use these tyres."

Matsuzaki added that looking after tyres both in terms of car setup and driving style will continue to be a vital part of the competitive puzzle in 2009.

The new aerodynamic regulations, which are designed to reduce the downforce of cars, mean that tyres are now even more significant in terms of the overall grip.

"Tyre management was crucial in 2008 and it will also be crucial in 2009. The factors for this management have changed due to the new regulations, so it will be interested to watch the teams and drivers evolve their understanding through the year."

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Singapore to revise track for 2009 race

Singapore Grand Prix organisers are in talks with Formula One teams and the FIA about making revisions to their Marina Bay circuit in a bid to increase overtaking opportunities ahead of this year's race, autosport.com can reveal.

Although the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, won by Fernando Alonso, was hailed a huge success, race chiefs are looking at ways to make the 2009 event even better.

In particular, event chairman Colin Syn says they are looking at reprofiling the first sequence of corners in the hope of making it easier for drivers to overtake.

Speaking to autosport.com, Syn said: "We are modifying turns one, two and three because we want drivers to have more opportunities to overtake this year."

There are also plans to work on improving the track surface, which drew criticism from drivers as the most bumpy on the Formula One calendar and required teams to make drastic setup changes.

"We want to reduce the bumps and smoothen out the circuit," said Syn. "So that will be an improvement next year to make the race even better than it was in 2008."

It is also understood that modifications will be made to the controversial Turn 10, where high kerbs caused several accidents last year - most notably for Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen during the race.

F1's first night race at Singapore last year was labelled a huge success, with drivers, teams and onlookers all impressed with the efforts made by race organisers.

Former world champion Mika Hakkinen, who attended the event last year, said: "We saw an absolutely fascinating Grand Prix, a fantastic race and everything went fine. So I think we had two Grand Prix winners - one was Fernando Alonso and the other was Singapore."

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Webber still aiming to return in February

Australian Mark Webber is still determined to be back at the wheel of a Formula One car early next month.

The Red Bull Racing driver broke his right leg in a bicycle accident in November and has been recovering with the aim of testing the new RB5 when it's rolled out on 9 February.

Webber has been training hard, mainly swimming, and expects to be able to run again soon.

"I want to be back in the car for testing at the beginning of February," Webber told Auto Motor und Sport magazine.

"The doctors say that I can run without walking aids when the broken leg has 80 percent of the strength of the healthy one."

The Australian admitted he felt lucky that he broke the right leg instead of the left one.

"It could have been much worse. I was lucky that it was the right left, which doesn't work so hard when driving," he added.

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Brawn says saving jobs is main priority

Ross Brawn says his priority in finding a buyer for Honda Racing is in saving the jobs of the outfit's employees - even if it means he has to step aside as team principal.

Discussions between potential buyers and team chiefs Brawn and CEO Nick Fry are ongoing, with high hopes that a deal can be completed by the end of this month.

Although the identity of the interested parties has not yet been disclosed, Brawn has made it clear that the focus is not on finding the highest bidder or saving his job, but in securing the future of Honda Racing's staff

When asked by Gazzetta dello Sport about how many buyers the team were speaking to, Brawn said: "I can only say it's more than one. The objective is to save the jobs...my presence is certainly not a priority."

Brawn said that work at Brackley was continuing on preparing the car for the start of the season, although time frame constraints caused by uncertainty about what engine they will run makes it likely the team will face a tough start to the year if they are saved.

"There's no hurry because modifying the car to install a different engine requires at least six weeks of work anyway," he explained. "It's unlikely we'll manage to be on track during the winter.

"That's why we are studying a package of evolutions for 2010, when we aim to step up the ladder. Next year will remain for us a transitional one."

Brawn also confirmed that he had approached Ferrari for a supply of customer engines.

"Honda has already said it will not supply us with engines, so that's why I contacted Ferrari.

"We haven't signed anything yet but I really appreciated the support from president Luca di Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali. It's like being among former schoolmates: they still see me as one of their own."

Brawn also reiterated that speculation Mexican businessman Carlos Slim was poised to buy the team was wide of the mark – despite intense speculation about such a move over the Christmas period.

"This gentleman never visited us and didn't show any intention of buying the team either," he said.

However, speaking about the prospects of the team finding a buyer in time, Brawn said: "Very good chances, I'm really optimistic."

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Horner: RBR to benefit from cost-cutting

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner believes recent cost-cutting measures introduced into Formula One will help his outfit move up the grid.

Although the team have been well funded by owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Horner believes they have still been at a disadvantage compared to many of their manufacturer rivals in terms of development resources.

However, he is hopeful that the money-saving measures such as wind tunnel use restrictions that were agreed by the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) and the FIA last month will shift the competitive balance in favour of teams like Red Bull Racing.

"For an independent team like Red Bull Racing, the rules do create a more level playing field," Horner told autosport.com. "With the restrictions that are coming into play, pretty much everyone has the same tools at their disposal.

"It's very easy to overlook that we are an independent team. We have got great strength of depth in people and the infrastructure is very strong. But as a non-works team, we lack the depth of manufacturer research and development and analysis. With the regulation changes, that becomes irrelevant.

"The regulation changes create opportunities and we will be looking to punch above our weight in 2009."

Horner added that he was happy with the progress the team have made during winter testing so far and is looking forward to the first test of their new RB5 at Jerez on February 9.

Although the team did not run as many 2009 aerodynamic developments as other teams during the tests held so far, Horner thinks they have not lost out - especially as the priority was to give new-signing Sebastian Vettel track time and increase their understanding of the new Bridgestone slick tyres.

"We had a very specific plan that we have run to," said Horner. "We're happy with what we have learned. It has been mainly focused on tyre evaluations and we're happy with what we have done.

"Sebastian has settled into the team very quickly. Obviously he had done some running for us at the beginning of 2008 and in September. We're very content with our winter testing programme and are looking forward to the new car."

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Red Bull RB5 to be unveiled next month

Red Bull Racing's new car will make its track debut in February, the team have announced.

The RB5, powered by a Renault engine, will take to the Jerez circuit on 9 February.

Team principal Christian Horner believes the late debut will actually pay off as it will allow Red Bull to put more work on the car.

"Our strategic plan has always been to take full advantage of the later start to the 2009 season and we are using the time to ensure we have optimised the car as much as possible, within the regulation changes, to start on the grid in Melbourne," said Horner.

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