2008 Formula 1 Season Thread

I wouldn't go as far as say that FOTA has an upper hand. However, they do have some say about matters now that they are united. Who remembers the engine freeze malarkey? The teams voted for against it but Max ignored the vote and rammed the idea through anyway. That would never have been possible if the teams were in one front (which is quite considerable front if you measure it in the amount of dollars they spend in F1), but since they were busy bickering between themselves Max could do what he wanted. I can't believe it's taken them so long to get into this point.
 
Ferrari calls for team orders rule tweak

Thursday, 23 October 2008 15:45

Formula 1?s team order rules need to be changed to reflect the fact that team-mates should be allowed to help each other during a race.

That is the view of Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who says he will speak with FIA president Max Mosley to discuss what he calls the ?hypocrisy? of the current interpretation.

Team orders were banned in the sport in 2002 following the widespread outrage that greeted Ferrari?s ordering of Rubens Barrichello to give race victory up for team-mate Michael Schumacher in the Austrian Grand Prix in the early stages of the season.

And while no such blatant hand-over has been seen since, there have been incidents where drivers have let their faster team-mate through and drivers backing off to gift a position to his title-chasing stable-mate ? often prompting questions about whether this is technically legal.

The most recent example came in Shanghai last weekend when Kimi Raikkonen slowed to allow fellow Ferrari driver Felipe Massa through to second place to aid the Brazilian?s championship push.

Montezemolo says something needs to be done to clarify that there is nothing wrong with this type of team tactic.

?I'll talk about it with Mosley ? we must get rid of this hypocrisy,? he told Italy?s Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

?The important thing is not to damage others.

?Aside from that, teamwork, in a team sport, is one of the best things; think of a cyclist leading the sprint for another.?

Montezemolo also voiced his views on the recent controversial stewards? decisions, which have hit both his and rival McLaren?s title hopes at various points of the campaign.

The Ferrari president believes these haven?t particularly been a negative for the sport this year, and instead again points the finger at the new street races in Valencia and Singapore.

?Perhaps they have been a bit too fussy, but I agree with them, otherwise grands prix will become a jungle,? he said.

?But the problem is the new circuits that won?t allow for a good show. One Monaco is enough.?
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Source
 
Ah the irony, the team whose behaviour caused the rule to be implemented is having a whinge about it...
 
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71773

FIA pushes on with standard engine plan

By Jonathan Noble Monday, October 27th 2008, 13:00 GMT

The FIA is pressing ahead with its plans for a standard engine in Formula One, after revealing on Monday that several parties have expressed an interest in applying for the tender.

In a bid to make much-needed cost cuts in F1, motor racing's governing body announced over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend that it wanted to introduce a standard engine in F1 from 2010 to 2012.

Such a move could prompt manufacturers to walk away from the sport, although F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone did question why they should do so when the move to a standard engine would save the car makers money.

Although the subject of a standard engine had appeared to move off the radar following last week's crunch meeting between FIA president Max Mosley and the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) to discuss costs cuts, a statement issued on Monday suggested the plans are still being pushed ahead at full speed.

The statement on Monday said that 'interested parties' had asked for clarifications from the FIA about several issues relating to the tender. These included the use of technologies in the engines, freight costs and the situation regarding engine changes.

The FIA also made it clear that it would ensure that manufacturers that chose to make their own standard engine would not be allowed to gain any significant performance benefit from doing so.

In response to the question about compatibility issues caused by teams sourcing engine parts themselves, the FIA said: "The FIA intends to ensure that all engines including those supplied by the tenderer are within 1% (engine power of other units) and that they remain within 1% throughout the engine's life. This being the case, it becomes irrelevant that a team which chooses to build the engine itself might do expensive work on the engine."

The FIA has also amended the deadlines for companies to submit their tender applications for both a standard engine and standard power transmission systems.

The November 7 deadline for submitting either just an engine supply deal or an engine and transmission deal together remains as originally set out.

However, should the FIA decide to award separate contracts for engine and transmission, then the tender for transmission only will be opened up once the power unit deal has been finalized. This tender process will last for a minimum of three weeks.

It is not clear which companies have expressed an interest in applying for the tender contract, but senior sources within FOTA claim an agreement is in place for none of the manufacturers currently involved in F1 to apply for the deal.

The FOTA source told autosport.com: "None of the FOTA members will apply. This has been confirmed by all the members."
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What?
 
The FIA aren't making themselves very popular lately.

Nereid said:
The FIA aren't making themsleves very popular lately.
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CaptainObvious.jpg


Nereid said:
CaptainObvious.jpg
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You talk to yourself?o_O

Nereid said:
You talk to yourself?o_O
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Well, if you're me, then therefore you're also talking to yourself, hypocrite.:p

Nereid said:
Well, if you're me, then therefore you're also talking to yourself, hypocrite.:p
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Don't call me a hypocrite, hypocrite.

Nereid said:
Don't call me a hypocrite, hypocrite.
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Well aren't we both hypocrites if we're the same?

Nereid said:
Well aren't we both hypocrites if we're the same?
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Fine. But you're still the bigger hypocrite.:tease:

Nereid said:
Fine. But you're still the bigger hypocrite.:tease:
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facepalm.jpg
 
Pitpass.com has just featured the story:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=36407

Ferrari considering its future in F1

27/10/2008

Ferrari has tonight issued the following:

The Board of Directors of Ferrari SpA met today under the chairmanship of Luca di Montezemolo, to examine the third quarter results. Ferrari recorded ? 450 million in revenues (up 22.3% year-over-year), and a trading profit of ? 79 million (17.6% of revenues), up 41.1% from the ? 56 million figure (15.2% of revenues) for Q3 2007.

The Board of Directors also examined the proposed changes to the Formula 1 regulations, in the light of the current global economic crisis.

Whilst reiterating its wholehearted commitment to a substantial and needed reduction in costs in Formula 1, starting with propulsion, the Ferrari Board of Directors expressed strong concerns regarding plans to standardise engines as it felt that such a move would detract from the entire raison of a sport with which Ferrari has been involved continuously since 1950, a raison d'etre based principally on competition and technological development.

The Board of Directors expressed the opinion that should these key elements be diminished, it would have to re-evaluate, with its partners the viability of continuing its presence in the sport.
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EDIT: And so did Grandprix.com:

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20925.html

OCTOBER 27, 2008
So Formula 1 without Ferrari...

Ferrari says that it is not going to be involved in Formula 1 with standardised engines. This is reiterating what several other manufacturers have said (either on or off the record).

The Ferrari Board of Directors examined the proposed changes to the F1 regulations, in the light of the current global economic crisis. The company says that it has a "wholehearted commitment to a substantial and needed reduction in costs in Formula 1, starting with propulsion", but the Ferrari board expressed "strong concerns" regarding plans to standardise engines as it felt that such a move would detract from the entire raison d'etre of a sport with which Ferrari has been involved continuously since 1950, based principally on competition and technological development. The board of directors expressed the opinion that should these key elements be diminished, it would have to re-evaluate, with its partners the viability of continuing its presence in the sport.

There is a clear message here for the FIA. Hopefully someone within the federation will take the hint.
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EDIT 2: And so has Autosport!!!!

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71786

Ferrari in quit threat over standard engine

By Jonathan Noble Monday, October 27th 2008, 19:16 GMT

Ferrari have issued a bombshell warning that they will reconsider their participation in Formula One if the FIA presses ahead with the introduction of a standard engine.

On a day when the FIA confirmed it was still pushing on with its plans to introduce standard engines in F1, Ferrari became the second team to publicly threaten to withdraw from the sport if the concept goes ahead.

In a statement issued following a board meeting at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, the team made it clear that it did not believe the move to standard powerplants was right for F1.

"Whilst reiterating its wholehearted commitment to a substantial and needed reduction in costs in Formula 1, starting with propulsion, the Ferrari Board of Directors expressed strong concerns regarding plans to standardise engines as it felt that such a move would detract from the entire raison of a sport with which Ferrari has been involved continuously since 1950, a raison d'etre based principally on competition and technological development," said the statement.

"The Board of Directors expressed the opinion that should these key elements be diminished, it would have to re-evaluate, with its partners the viability of continuing its presence in the sport."

Ferrari's statement came less than an hour after Toyota team president John Howett told autosport.com that the Japanese manufacturer would almost certainly be out of F1 if the standard engine idea went ahead. Howett also suggested that other manufacturers would follow suit.

""I think you will see manufacturers potentially leaving F1 if there is a standard engine," Howett told autosport.com. "I don't think any of the manufacturers want a homogenized engine. I think the outcome depends partially on the FIA and the World Motor Sport Council, and whether they have a mind to press through with the idea."

The FIA has already opened the tender for the supply of standard engines from 2010 to 2012, with the governing body claiming several 'interested parties' had expressed an interest in applying for the deal.

Although it has widely been talked about that manufacturers would withdraw from F1 if the standard engine idea went through, Ferrari's decision to go public with their quit threat is a major development - as the Italian manufacturer have previously shied away from such dramatic statements.

It comes with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo heading the Formula One Teams' Association's (FOTA) effort to coordinate with the FIA a package of rules changes.
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All in all, this looks like a very very real threat. And the teams can capitalise on this in their negotiations.
 
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Even with some of the things Max & Bernie have done in the past, it still staggers me that they're pushing ahead with the standard engine. The blind arrogance is amazing.
 
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