Gillett: Donington will deliver

Donington Park boss Simon Gillett has no doubts his track will be ready in time for the 2010 British Grand Prix after securing planning permission on Thursday night.

North West Leicestershire District Council approved plans for a £100 million track revamp, which now clears the way for construction to start at the circuit.

And although Gillett has faced months of sceptical views about whether the venue's overhaul will be completed in time for next year, he is defiant that the track is on course to host the British GP.

"Donington will deliver," Gillett said after leaving the evening hearing in Coalville. "We will definitely be celebrating tonight.

"This is a major step forward and one more target delivered. I remain committed to approaching every stage of this development with the same passion and vigour with which we attacked the planning stage, and I have endeavoured to ensure that the same is true of the people who will work with me on this project.

“My eye is always on that fixed end date of July 2010. I remain confident and positive that we can and will achieve everything that we have promised and I won't rest until I am watching the British Grand Prix at Donington Park next year."

Gillett's joy at the planning permission news has been echoed by Donington Park landowner Tom Wheatcroft.

"I'm delighted to see that the plans have been accepted," he explained. “There is a lot of work ahead now for everyone and I am looking forward enthusiastically to 2010 and the arrival of the British F1 Grand Prix.”

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Q and A with David Richards

Prodrive boss David Richards has not been out of the headlines in recent weeks, following stories linking him with a takeover of Honda Racing, plus the withdrawal of Subaru from the World Rally Championship.

His arrival on the main stage at the Autosport International on the first day of this year's show was therefore greeted with great interest.

Autosport.com was there to hear what he had to say about sportscars, rallying and the WRC.

Q. A very interesting 2008 for Prodrive - with wonderful success with Aston Martin at Le Mans, but tinged with the loss of Subaru from the World Rally Championship. So were there mixed emotions when you look back at 2008?

David Richards: Yes. I guess that is very similar for most people in business in the last few months actually, with the highs and lows. We have certainly felt it with the success of Aston Martin and the sadness at losing Subaru from the World Rally Championship.

Q. Did you anticipate Subaru's withdrawal from the WRC?

DR: We knew that the whole programme was under review because of the longer term, with the change of regulations and a whole raft of issues around Subaru's involvement - after all, they have been there for 20 years and people don't tend to stay in motorsport programmes for that long anyway without reconsidering things. Their product range was changing at the same time.

But the thing that really brought things about was the dramatic downturn in their sales, plus other problems in their aerospace division as well. That put them under enormous financial pressures.

Q. Is there something to be said for conservatism in the Japanese economy? We lost Subaru from rallying, we lost Honda from F1 and we lost Kawasaki from MotoGP. Is there a link there?

DR: Well unfortunately, if I am brutally honest about it, I think often Japanese companies wait for one of their peer group to take the big decision first and then everyone follows. I think that is probably why many people went into motorsport in the first place, and that is possibly one of the reasons why many of them might exit now given that Honda made the bold decision to pull out.

Q. One of Prodrive's greatest skills in recent years has been to entice manufacturers into a programme, and to make it successful very quickly. Is that the philosophy that you still hold?

DR: You say move on to something else, but that is not quite the case. Certainly Subaru defies that one. We have been working with them for 20 years and we have got relationships with Ford in Australia now for a number of years, and with Aston Martin for a good period of time.

Our philosophy is to build up long-standing business relationships. I have got no illusion about it – that Subaru did not want to come into motorsport to win rallies, and Aston Martin don't do motorsport to win races. They do it to sell motor cars. So our partnership is about a business partnership. It is about working with them to build their businesses. And whatever their objective, whether it is a car manufacturer or a technical sponsor or a commercial sponsor, they are in it for a specific business purpose. Our job is to deliver that. Part of that process might be to win races, but on occasion you don't need to win to deliver the benefits. It is a real partnership.

Q. Can you see Subaru returning to the sport, perhaps when the new regulations have established themselves and the sport grows again?

DR: I am uncertain about that at the moment, and it is certainly far too early to say that. There is an extraordinary heritage that to me would be rather wasteful to let go. They have built up such good will there, and to most people in following rallying or those who have a passing interest – the blue Subarus are like the red Ferraris are to F1.

So there is a lot of investment in that that would be wasted if it was left too long to go back to. But you do research on F1 and people still say that John Player Lotus are competing – so there is a latent benefit for many years to come.

Q. Aston Martin for 2009. The DBR9 in the wonderful Gulf colours talking a memorable class win at Le Mans – are you back for more in June?

DR: Yes, we will definitely be back at Le Mans. We are working on a whole range of programmes and anyone who has been on our stand knows we are working on the GT2 regulations where the future will likely as not be in the world championship – as Stephane (Ratel) is trying to set up for 2010.

So we are really starting to plan for the future. It is obviously a difficult period of time, with a transition in technical regulations and the commercial environment we are having to work in.

Q. Prodrive has a very important customer-build setup. You have taken Aston Martin and won internationally in the big blue riband sportscar races, but you build cars for customers as well...

DR: Yes, you can buy exactly the same car. We have many, many customers. Our role more and more is to step out from participation ourselves and make sure the product is right for the customers to run it...Around the world we have got many, many customers and that is one of the strengths of our organisation – we do not just sell them the car but we will provide the technical and parts support after that.

We carry a stockholding down at Banbury of about £11 million worth of stock sitting in the warehouse there on 24 hours turnaround. There are people working 24/7. You can order over the internet and the parts are with you in Australia, New Zealand, America, wherever you want them, the next day.

Q. You have a technical relationship with Alfa Romeo, another iconic brand, with the Brera S. Is that something that could develop?

DR: We have developed a very good relationship with Alfa Romeo through this Brera S project. I very much hope that that can develop over the next few years in other areas. I suppose it hides the fact for many that we work with a lot of manufacturers in a range of areas – many of whom never see the light of day in that you don't see the Prodrive relationship out front.

Alfa chose to promote that relationship and work with us on how we have marketed that car, and it has been very successful. But I am sure you will see a wide range of products from not just Alfa Romeo but many other people in the future coming from the Prodrive stable.

Q. Let's talk about F1. People are dying to know that post-Honda pullout – where do you stand with that now? You are on the shortlist, and you are an interested party – potentially getting back involved after being at BAR a few years ago?

DR: All I can say is that I have made it very clear that the only terms I would ever consider a return or an involvement was if I felt we could be competitive – and nobody expects to win in their first year of Formula One. It has also got to be financially viable. You expect to (have to) invest but you also expect it to work. I just personally feel that the current environment is too unsettled.

The cost-cutting process that has been put in place has not yet seen its full benefit, and I don't think it will be until 2010 that you will see those issues roll out properly. The teams have still got a burden of overhead that is unsustainable. So consequently, the window of time for entry, I just question whether it is right at the moment.

Q. Last time you were in F1, with BAR, it was a very successful operation with many podiums in 2004. Do you have a personal desire to go back into F1 and enjoy the good times again?

DR: We were runner up that year behind Ferrari, and everyone assumes I would be motivated to go back for the last push. That is not what motivates me at all. It will be a business decision, it will be a hard-headed business decision not an emotive one, when I make it.

Q. Has F1 woken up to itself in the last few months?

DR: I think there are still many people in F1 (for whom) reality has not yet sunk in about just how bad the situation is out there in the world - in business, commerce and everyone's way of life at the moment. If Formula One does not reconnect itself with its fan base and with the man in the street, and bring itself down to earth, I fear for its future. I know some people at the top end of the sport are addressing that and are well aware of that…It is a bitter medicine that is required at the moment but it has to be done.

Q. Do you like what you see so far – the big technical changes of the car and a ban on in-season testing. They are making big inroads, aren't they?

DR: I would regard those as modest inroads if I am honest with you. When you make changes to thing, and you have to make a radical shift to get back to a sustainable level, you make that one-hit, one cut very quickly to get it done and then move forward from that point. You don't do it by a series of 1000 cuts. If I was involved I would be pushed hard for a lot deeper cuts a lot quicker.

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Interview with Donington boss Gillett

Work to get Donington Park ready for the 2010 British Grand Prix begins in earnest today after plans for a £100 million track revamp were given planning permission on Thursday night.

The green light from the local council has brought a fresh reality to the ambitions of Donington Park CEO Simon Gillett to host next year's Formula One race, and provides further reason to silence the many doubters who have been sceptical about the event taking place.

Autosport.com spoke exclusively to Gillett on Friday morning to hear his views on the progress of the plans, what the financial situation for the circuit is and what his reaction to the critics has been.

Q. First of all, what's the first reaction to the confirmation of planning permission. How do you feel?

Simon Gillett: I'm out of this world. It is the culmination of six years' hard work after originally coming from a boyhood dream. Now, all of a sudden, yesterday gave us the green light to go ahead and do it - so I am over the moon.

Q. You spoke to autosport.com at the Monaco Business Forum, and said you thought planning permission was in the bag. Was it still a big hurdle for you to go through this process though?

SG: No matter how confident you feel on these things, and you have all the right signs and feel as positive as you like, until someone actually says you have got it, you haven't actually got it. At 7.30pm last night someone said you have got it, and that was it. We finally just tripped over the final hurdle.

Q. Was it a fairly straightforward process from signing the deal to getting everything in place. Was there a lot of work to make it happen?

SG: It has been a lot of work. It has been a full time effort from myself and my team to do the work with getting Bernie (Ecclestone) over the line and getting the planning permission over the line. But we have done both.

Q. What's the next step now then?

SG: Build it!

Q. So when does that start?

SG: Today. We were fencing yesterday with the construction team and we are on site today. That is it - we are now full speed ahead. If you go up to Donington Park today you will see some big holes have started being dug.

Q. What is the time frame for when we can expect things to be built?

SG: You will see things sprouting out of the ground quite quickly. Groundwork is first, but the first big change will be the tunnel. We are going to have a new tunnel between Coppice and McLeans, an HGV tunnel, and that will be started today and completed by February 20. The next phase then will be hitting the pit and paddock, and probably by the MotoGP in July you will see the complete building up on site.

Q. Bernie Ecclestone remarked recently that there was a September inspection. Is that all scheduled to take place?

SG: Yes, Bernie has to make sure that we are all on track, so he will be there in September and then again in March. They are both programmed in and we are confident and comfortable that we will be there.

Q. In terms of the other racing activities at the track, will they be unaffected by the work?

SG: That is the idea. The reason why the tunnel is first is that we will get it in, cover it up and then resurface the track as normal, so we have free and unfettered access to the infield. The only difference is that infield viewing this year will be unrestricted. That is the only thing we will do.

Q. Is funding now the biggest challenge for this project?

SG: No.

Q. So you feel it is all in place?

SG: We are comfortable with our funding. We will be announcing our funding package and debenture scheme probably by the end of quarter one, so by the end of March 2009. We think that is the right time to come out and start speaking to people about that. So you will hear a lot more then.

Q. When you signed the deal for the British Grand Prix the economic climate was a world away from what it is now. Has the funding situation changed in recent months?

SG: We are quite a good long term prospect. The fact that we have a ten-year deal is very important. If we had a five-year or three-year deal I could see how that would be really impacted by the current economic climate but the longevity of that contract and the scale of the plans gives people the comfort and the time to recoup. We all know that the green shoots of recovery will happen in the next six, 12, 18 months - whenever it will be. But we've got, if you take 18 months to our first Grand Prix and another 10 to thereafter, it gives a good return on investment and security that something will be there.

Q. There has been talk of 5000 debentures for £6000 per year.

SG: It is interesting, as I have seen that figure quoted! The final bit we are working out now is what the pricing of the debentures will be. That is why we are not coming out with that at the moment, we are fettling and tinkering. There is an interesting balance with debentures - as we have to give content and they have to give money. The amount of money they give is dependent on the amount of content we give back. So we are just working out the right balance of those two at the moment, doing a lot of third and fourth round research to make sure we get exactly what the customers want.

Q. Is the corporate route still best, with marketing being clamped down on?

SG: The debenture scheme is not a corporate vehicle - it can be. It is both a personal and corporate vehicle, and that is the balance we are working on at the moment. There is no point in me going out and selling the debenture scheme I want. The idea is we are going out to the market, and we will have interviewed around 3000-4000 people over the process of our research phase. What we will do is build the product that the 3000-4000 people think is required.

Q. How is progress going with the traffic plans?

SG: I am really excited, and that is one of the big things I am excited about. We have announced the first public transport Grand Prix, and I cannot think of another sport where 90,000 people can drive to the front door and watch. If you look at Wembley or Twickenham, they have proven that public transport is the best way to go. We have already started work on that first phase, and we have a programme of work between us, the local authority, the Highways' Agency, the Police, the emergency services and the airport over the next six months to get that fine fettled into something that we all think and all believe will work.

Q. There were some comments with you last year talking about the airport use being restricted over the GP weekend, but an airport representative said this week that that would not happen. Can you clarify that situation?

SG: Well, what we are doing is to go through a process of negotiation. What the airport will not do is lose money. They are a commercial business and they are not going to close because I have got a Grand Prix. Will they take a better financial alternative? That is what we are looking at at the moment. Those negotiations are still ongoing. We have a lot of airport traffic, from helicopters to private jets and charter jets from the continent. And the airport fee will more than recompence them for shifting around some of their standard flights around.

Q. You've hit your first major target. Everything appears on course - why have there been so many doubters from day one saying the project will not happen?

SG: I will bite my tongue for now! That is the British way, isn't it? The British way is that nothing will ever happen until it does, and then we cannot wait for it to fail. You expect it, and this business is a very closed business as well. It is very stuck in its ways. Silverstone has had the Grand Prix for a very long time and people are very used to that – and change is something that scares the pants off both this business and British people in general. Unfortunately I've come in with a little bit of change and that has upset some people.

Q. Does that criticism fire you up?

SG: Well, I've been told I wouldn't get the circuit. I've been told I wouldn't get planning. I've got both. So I am hoping now people will tell me I won't get on the grid and I won't be able to build it on time. As long as the doubters keep at it, we will keep achieving. As I've said, I am not out to convince the doubters, I am going to build it. We will still build it, we will still run the Grand Prix, and that is the best way to prove the doubters wrong.

Q. Have you ever had any doubts yourself about the scale of the project you have taken on?

SG: No. I would not have started this if I didn't think I could get to the goal. How I always look at it is that I look at the goal and then I work my way back from there. I have always been clear about this – I am going to build the world's best circuit with the world's best content and the world's best facilities.

Q. Can you see any other outcome than the 2010 British Grand Prix taking place at Donington Park?

SG: Not at all!

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Mosley: Teams must see cost cuts through

The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) is facing fresh pressure from FIA president Max Mosley to make sure it sees through the radical cost-cutting measures agreed at the end of last year.

FOTA and the FIA reached a breakthrough agreement in December for a package of measures aimed to reduce budgets in Formula One and help it survive the worldwide economic downturn.

However, ahead of a FOTA meeting scheduled for today to discuss the next steps, Mosley has told the organisation that it is important the concepts approved by them are now seen through.

In a letter to FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo, Mosley has laid out what he wants to see happen over the next two years. And he has warned that even more radical concepts, such as budget capping, may be the only way to ensure the survival of the sport.

"Even before the current crisis, Formula One was not viable," said Mosley. "Costs have been so high that we have had vacancies in the Championship for some time. Secondly, it is impossible to cut costs substantially without significant change.

"Inevitably, cherished projects, facilities and sadly even people have to go. Thirdly, the fact of having recently invested in an expensive facility is not an argument for retaining it. That money has been spent. It's gone.

"What we have to avoid is forcing others to spend the same money in order to keep up. Fourthly, there is no rational argument to support the continued use in Formula One of expensive technologies which have no relevance outside the sport and are unknown (and thus of no interest) to the general public."

For 2009, Mosley has called on FOTA to agree on how to enforce a restriction of wind tunnel use, which was confirmed in an email from FIA race director Charlie Whiting earlier this month. He also says: "We are ready to agree further cost-saving measures for 2009 if these have the agreement of all the teams."

Looking further ahead, Mosley outlines additional engine restrictions that will allow proposed standard engine supplier Cosworth to supply power units for less than 5 million Euros per season. Testing will also be limited to 15,000 kilometres per year, including Friday running.

There will also be a standard gearbox produced by XR, which will also require the need for a standard underbody, and a limit on what parts of a chassis can be developed by teams.

Mosley said: "All remaining chassis elements will be either standard or frozen. We wish to develop this list in consultation with FOTA but it must be understood that it will involve a radical curtailment of R&D in respect of the chassis and hence a very significant reduction in costs. If carefully thought through, it should also reduce the need for the use of wind tunnels, CFD and simulators."

The teams have also been asked to come up with ways to reduce costs on a race weekend, and perhaps a refining of tyres with Bridgestone to lessen the need for expensive weight distribution coordination that is required because of their current characteristics.

Mosley wrote: "Apparently a lot of money is currently being spent on achieving a weight distribution which gets the best possible performance from current tyre widths. We should like to discuss with FOTA a possible change in the front-to-rear width ratio with a view to eliminating this problem. At the same time we should like to examine with Bridgestone and FOTA the possibility of introducing compounds which will not produce 'marbles'."

As well as asking for a look at a way to reduce the development costs of KERS, Mosley thinks perhaps it would ultimately be best to introduce a budget cap.

He added: "We understand that this is once again being discussed within FOTA. The idea that each team should have the same amount of money, so that success is simply a function of intellectual ability, has great appeal.

"If properly enforced, it would be a very fair system. Indeed one view is that having much more money than a rival team is just as unfair as having a bigger engine. We should like to discuss this further with FOTA.

"It may be that in present circumstances, a voluntary cap would work because no manufacturer whose board has signed off the agreed amount would be likely to allow secret additional expenditure, while independent teams would probably not have access to the necessary cash."

Summing up the aims for the future, Mosley said that the FIA could only safeguard F1 if budgets were reduced dramatically - through both cost cuts and perhaps an increase in revenue for the teams.

And he made it clear that it would not be the FIA who lost out if teams collapsed or even decided to set up a breakaway series.

"As already mentioned, the financial barriers to entry were already too high before the current world financial crisis," said Mosley.

"We had a Championship dependent on the willingness of world's car industry to continue spending vast sums on Formula One racing and the few remaining independent teams (with one exception) entirely reliant on the generosity of their billionaire owners. In current circumstances, it would be crazy to assume this can continue.

"Costs must be reduced to a point where a well-run independent team can operate profitably with just the FOM money and very moderate sponsorship. This is the only way to safeguard the Championship and allow new teams to enter to fill the gaps as well as replace those leaving."

He added: "The FIA itself would not be financially disadvantaged by a collapse of Formula One, but it would suffer in other ways. And, in any event, we believe we have a duty to do whatever is necessary to preserve the Championship for the competitors, the commercial rights holder and motor sport generally.

"We are therefore prepared to act radically. We hope that, notwithstanding the changes which must now be made, all teams which are still in business in 2010 will enter. But as already stated, we will be ready to recognise an independent series should some teams prefer to go their own way."

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The full letter from Mosley to FOTA

Mr Luca di Montezemolo, Chairman

FOTA

FORMULA ONE TEAMS ASSOCN

5 January 2009

Dear Luca

COST CUTTING

Following Charlie's email of 3 January, I feel it may be useful to set out the current position as we see it.

A few general points

First, even before the current crisis, Formula One was not viable. Costs have been so high that we have had vacancies in the Championship for some time. Secondly, it is impossible to cut costs substantially without significant change. Inevitably, cherished projects, facilities and sadly even people have to go. Thirdly, the fact of having recently invested in an expensive facility is not an argument for retaining it. That money has been spent. It's gone. What we have to avoid is forcing others to spend the same money in order to keep up. Fourthly, there is no rational argument to support the continued use in Formula One of expensive technologies which have no relevance outside the sport and are unknown (and thus of no interest) to the general public.

SPECIFICS

2009

The changes to the 2009 Regulations agreed at the December 10 meeting will help a lot. We need detailed proposals on some aspects, particularly the 8 hour/5 day restriction on wind tunnel use (which we understand was agreed among the teams) if we are to enforce this as a regulation, but much is already in place.

We are ready to agree further cost-saving measures for 2009 if these have the agreement of all the teams.

2010

The really big changes come in 2010.

Engine

- The rev limit will be reduced to 17,000 for 2010 and thereafter;
- retuning will be limited to, at most, trumpets and injectors (position only), except that Cosworth, having missed out on the last retune, will be allowed to make general changes within a limited budget;
- engines remain completely frozen until 2013, as already agreed;
- testing will be limited to 15,000km per year, Friday testing included.

On this basis, Cosworth will be able to supply competitive engines from 2010 for well under €5m per season per team, including all on-track support, provided they have firm orders to supply at least three teams within the next week or two;

The present regulations will remain in force, so there will be no interference with any existing arrangement for the supply of engines. Furthermore, the reduction to 17,000 rpm will allow additional cost savings for current engine suppliers.

Transmission

We intend to make it a condition of entry to the 2010 Championship that a team has made an arrangement with XR for the supply of the standard gearbox in accordance with XR's tender. We appreciate that some teams would like to continue with their current arrangements and/or use standard internals, but the fully standard gearbox is an obvious way to save very significant sums without affecting any useful aspect of Formula One. In order to eliminate the difficulties of the interaction of the casing with the underbody, we will also require a standard underbody. Again, this will have no impact on the spectacle but will save even more money and eliminate certain scrutineering problems.

Chassis

We will shortly produce a list of chassis parts and systems which, from 2010 onwards, will be the only elements of the chassis which can be developed. All remaining chassis elements will be either standard or frozen. We wish to develop this list in consultation with FOTA but it must be understood that it will involve a radical curtailment of R&D in respect of the chassis and hence a very significant reduction in costs. If carefully thought through, it should also reduce the need for the use of wind tunnels, CFD and simulators.

Race Weekend

We should like FOTA to make proposals to reduce further the costs of the race weekend, always on the basis that priority should be given to cost savings in areas which are invisible to the public and have no safety implications.

KERS

No team is obliged to fit KERS. It is also open to the teams to agree on a standard system or, indeed, to agree not to fit it at all. We are increasingly of the view that the use of chemical storage (in particular batteries) should be prohibited in Formula One owing to the unsuitability of the batteries currently available. There are at least two mechanical or electro-mechanical systems under development for Formula One and there may be others as well as hydraulic systems. Formula One would benefit from systems with more capacity than the present 400KJ, 60KW, (for example maxima of: 2MJ stored, 150KW in, 100KW out) but still very small and very light, as is essential in Formula One. These figures are theoretically possible with mechanical devices, but not feasible in the foreseeable future using batteries and/or capacitors. Such non-chemical devices, if successfully developed, would have a very significant impact on road transport and other applications.

This is a subject we should like to explore in depth with FOTA. In particular we should like to examine how Formula One's outstanding engineering capacity could be used to develop KERS without incurring significant costs for the teams.

Tyres

Apparently a lot of money is currently being spent on achieving a weight distribution which gets the best possible performance from current tyre widths. We should like to discuss with FOTA a possible change in the front-to-rear width ratio with a view to eliminating this problem. At the same time we should like to examine with Bridgestone and FOTA the possibility of introducing compounds which will not produce "marbles".

Budget Capping

We understand that this is once again being discussed within FOTA. The idea that each team should have the same amount of money, so that success is simply a function of intellectual ability, has great appeal. If properly enforced, it would be a very fair system. Indeed one view is that having much more money than a rival team is just as unfair as having a bigger engine. We should like to discuss this further with FOTA. It may be that in present circumstances, a voluntary cap would work because no manufacturer whose board has signed off the agreed amount would be likely to allow secret additional expenditure, while independent teams would probably not have access to the necessary cash.

The "Show"

The main complaint from race fans is the lack of overtaking and wheel-to-wheel racing. Changes to the aerodynamics rules have been proposed by a group of top experts from the teams and will take effect in 2009. It remains to be seen whether these plus an extra 80 bhp from KERS will help overtaking. There are also proposals for changes to the sporting regulations such as wholly or partially reversed grids, allocating leading grid places by lot, giving the World Championship to the driver with most wins and so on. Arguably, however, none of these deals with the problem that once the faster car gets past, it tends to drive away. So none of these proposals is conducive to close, wheel-to-wheel racing.

We intend to seek FOTA's help to investigate the use of moveable aerodynamic devices. If sufficiently radical, these could give a car following another car a performance advantage by virtue of being behind. In a primitive way, this was the case in the 1960s, when a car would get a "tow" and lose lift and thus be faster in the wake of another car. The result was wheel-to-wheel racing at the so-called slip-streaming circuits, for example pre-chicane Monza. Using modern technology, moveable aero devices could be used to give a car more downforce and less drag whenever it was in turbulent air. This would produce wheel-to-wheel racing on all types of circuit. It would, however, require significant (possibly automatic) moveable aero devices.

The Future

As already mentioned, the financial barriers to entry were already too high before the current world financial crisis. We had a Championship dependent on the willingness of world's car industry to continue spending vast sums on Formula One racing and the few remaining independent teams (with one exception) entirely reliant on the generosity of their billionaire owners. In current circumstances, it would be crazy to assume this can continue. Costs must be reduced to a point where a well-run independent team can operate profitably with just the FOM money and very moderate sponsorship. This is the only way to safeguard the Championship and allow new teams to enter to fill the gaps as well as replace those leaving.

The FIA itself would not be financially disadvantaged by a collapse of Formula One, but it would suffer in other ways. And, in any event, we believe we have a duty to do whatever is necessary to preserve the Championship for the competitors, the commercial rights holder and motor sport generally. We are therefore prepared to act radically. We hope that, notwithstanding the changes which must now be made, all teams which are still in business in 2010 will enter. But as already stated, we will be ready to recognise an independent series should some teams prefer to go their own way.

We hope for FOTA's support in the actions we take and for your unstinted help in reaching the decisions which have yet to be made.

With best wishes

Yours sincerely

Max Mosley

cc: All Formula One Team Principals

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FIA ready to allow moveable wings

The FIA says it is ready to accept the wholesale use of moveable aerodynamic devices in Formula One in a bid to help improve the show.

Although there has been a revamp of the technical regulations for this year to a bid to help make overtaking easier, FIA president Max Mosley believes that more radical steps may be needed to sort the situation out fully.

He suggests that rather than opting for sporting tweaks like reverse grids or a medal system to make the spectacle better, that it may be wiser to go for a more major tweaking of the technical regulations.

In a letter sent to the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA), Mosley said: "The main complaint from race fans is the lack of overtaking and wheel-to-wheel racing. Changes to the aerodynamics rules have been proposed by a group of top experts from the teams and will take effect in 2009. It remains to be seen whether these plus an extra 80 bhp from KERS will help overtaking.

"There are also proposals for changes to the sporting regulations such as wholly or partially reversed grids, allocating leading grid places by lot, giving the World Championship to the driver with most wins and so on.

"Arguably, however, none of these deals with the problem that once the faster car gets past, it tends to drive away. So none of these proposals is conducive to close, wheel-to-wheel racing.

"We intend to seek FOTA's help to investigate the use of moveable aerodynamic devices. If sufficiently radical, these could give a car following another car a performance advantage by virtue of being behind. In a primitive way, this was the case in the 1960s, when a car would get a "tow" and lose lift and thus be faster in the wake of another car.

"The result was wheel-to-wheel racing at the so-called slip-streaming circuits, for example pre-chicane Monza. Using modern technology, moveable aero devices could be used to give a car more downforce and less drag whenever it was in turbulent air.
"This would produce wheel-to-wheel racing on all types of circuit. It would, however, require significant (possibly automatic) moveable aero devices."

Moveable aerodynamic devices have been banned in F1 for many years, but the interpretation of the rules has led to frequent controversy amid claims from some teams that their rivals have been using 'flexi-wings'.

The freeing up of moveable aerodynamic devices would also end the FIA's need for labour-intensive scrutineering checks to ensure that teams are complying with the regulations.

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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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