Fota in new cost cutting push.

[dannyjo22]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90584

I find this article interesting that prior to losing Mercedes Mclaren where not that interested in cost cutting, now it's a big issue to protect those they are racing against

While clearly Red Bull are not so interested if my reading between the lines is correct

The one area I don't agree with is ring fencing spending on Kers/Powertrain, this is the one area that's most useful to road cars and technology to be invested in. I'd rather they gave them a simple style 97 front wing made of two elements to give them more to spend on non aero technologies. Such as economy and KERS.






Anyway the full article as Autosport remove it after 2 weeks for non subscribers....

Formula 1 teams are hoping to close in on a fresh cost-cutting deal to help secure the future of the sport during a meeting ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT can reveal.

Members of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) are to gather pre-race at Sepang to go through a number of topics - including work on amendments to the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA), discussions about the organisation's chief officers and ongoing talks about the Concorde Agreement.

Although the teams have already agreed a basic framework for the RRA based on a deal signed at last year's Singapore Grand Prix, there remain differences of opinion about further changes that it is hoped will help add stability to the whole grid.

Sources suggest that there are a number of issues that need resolving – including the use of outside suppliers, how spending on future KERS/power train development should be ring-fenced and also how breaches of RRA spending limits should be dealt with.

FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh believes that finding an updated RRA that all the teams are happy with is vital for the sport going forward.

"It is important," he told AUTOSPORT. "There is a desire to extend it into the powertrain which I think is eminently sensible, but we have to continue to grow and develop it. People have expressed different opinions, but we have to go forward.

"F1 needs it. You don't have to go too far down the pitlane to know that unless we can continue to go down the path of controlling and reducing costs in F1 there will be problems.

"It is okay for some of us at this end to say that it doesn't feel like a real and immediate priority – but if we don't do it then we won't have people to race against. It is as simple as that.

"I believe that I represent the interests of McLaren and the teams to say that we have to bring down the costs for all of us of being competitive in F1."

Although it is understood that Red Bull's two teams are standing out alone for a number of revisions to the RRA, Whitmarsh said it would be wrong of him to talk about whether a compromise on the issues at stake can be found.

"I don't think it is helpful for me as chairman of FOTA to talk about different opinions of teams," he said. "I think it is inevitable there will be differences on any subject, as we are a competitive bunch of people in the F1 paddock.

"I think ultimately there has been a tremendous amount of goodwill to get to where we are. There has been a lot of pain, and let's not forget that there are a lot of teams, and we are certainly one, who have had to reduce our staff and that is not an easy process to go through.

"It is the bigger teams that have in effect born the brunt of it and worked hard. But it is never enough. It is an increasingly tough competitive world out there, but we have to make sure that the restrictions that we have placed upon ourselves cover a broader spectrum of our activity."

 

[dannyjo22]

I agree the technology has to become more relevant to get backers. All the big sponsors they threatened would come when the ciggerette money went never happened.

For some of the big sponsors involved in sport (non f1) it just doesn't return enough value for money, for car makers it doesn't sell cars.

The 40 million banded about was unworkable, but I'd like to see standard front and rear wings because team waste far too much money developing them and then give them free reign on Kers and engine efficiency.

One picture that always stands out to me is the 97 williams wing in comparison to last years red bull. I wonder how much money was spent over the years getting to that point. I'd prefer either a standard design or a two part design like the williams wing.

 

[dannyjo22]

I don't want a standard wing, but I do agree with one or two boards with no stuck on tat, openings like they have now.

I suppose if you regulated it to two elements like the Williams wing pictured it wouldn't need to be standard. When you look at it I doubt there was much in the differences in design back then, it's pretty simple. Hard to believe only as far back as 97 was that basic.

Both Newey wings but worlds apart.

 

[dannyjo22]

Well Todt blames it on circuit design and the fall in viewing figures for not being able to clearly identify the drivers

http://en.espnf1.com/fia/motorsport/story/45247.html

Jean Todt , the FIA president, has criticised Formula One tracks where there is little chance to overtake, saying they are partially to blame for falling television audiences across the world. He singled out Yas Marina, often held up by Bernie Ecclestone as the most appealing circuit, as an example of all that is bad about the sport.

"Races like Abu Dhabi in 2010, where you cannot overtake, are unacceptable," Todt told Auto Motor und Sport. "Recent data indicates a fall in the numbers of spectators. People have many choices in how to spend their leisure and every day we must ask ourselves how we can improve the entertainment".

Richard Cregan, the chief executive of the Yas Marina circuit, said the problem was not limited to new tracks. "You can see it around the world that you have tracks equally as good as Yas Marina, many of them with a longer heritage and still F1 becomes a procession," he said. "We are looking at various track modifications that we have to do for MotoGP and also what impact they would have on Formula One. We want to be active in terms of increasing the spectacle."

Todt said the lack of visibility of the drivers was another contributing factor. "On television I can hardly tell who is at the wheel of each car. Only the experts know the helmets and many drivers change their design race to race. NASCAR does a good job. A driver, getting a starting number that he keeps for all his career, is immediately identifiable by the fans."

He also defended Formula One's new 'green' engine rules for 2013 which have so angered Ecclestone.

"One day governments will prohibit certain types of cars or engines. The FIA needs to demonstrate it is moving forward, even if it brings us no new fans," he said. "The bigger you are, the greater the role model you have to be."