FIA PLANS COST-SAVING MEASURES.(Competition)

The FIA has begun introducing major changes to Formula One that have huge implications for the motorsports industry. Clearly, FIA president Max Mosley and his advisers are so concerned about F1's future in the light of plummeting TV figures and sponsorship revenues that they are willing to sacrifice the jobs of engineers working on the teams and their technical suppliers worldwide. They are forcing the teams to reduce their expenditures, and jobs will be lost.

The changes make obsolete much of the technology the teams have invested in, such as some of the facilities in the hugely expensive new McLaren International technical center, which is almost up and running. An F1 insider noted that after the FIA met with teams last week in London, McLaren CEO Ron Dennis departed literally speechless with anger.

What are the rules?

For starters, the FIA has invoked an existing Sporting Regulation that says, ``The driver must drive the car alone and unaided,'' to renew the ban on driver aids, effective immediately. This includes telemetry and pit-car radio systems, and (probably later this season) traction control, launch control and fully automatic gearboxes.

In addition in 2003, the FIA will alter the Sporting Regula-tions to prohibit the use of spare cars. The teams now will be permitted to share components they have manufactured.

Additionally, after all 2003 qualifying sessions, the cars will be placed in parc ferme-basically quarantined-until shortly before the start of the races. This means no work can be done on them except under FIA inspectors' supervision.

More changes also will be introduced during the next three seasons (2004, '05 and '06) under the guise of Sporting Regulations, which, unlike Technical Regulations, can be altered without the unanimous agreement of the teams, and with short notice.