Mosley overrules teams on engines

Monday, 15, May 2006 09:23

FIA president Max Mosley is to implement new rules freezing engine development for the 2008 season, despite Formula One teams voting against them.

The 12 teams that will compete in 2008 voted against the plans which would have prevented teams from enhancing their engine capabilities for three years.

However, Mosley insists that the rules are there to make the sport more competitive and cost-effective so he will overrule the teams and implement them anyway.

"By entering the championship, a team accepts the regulations as published and, equally importantly, is entitled to rely on them when deciding whether or not to enter," Mosley told team bosses in a letter.

"There can therefore be no question of abandoning engine homologation (freeze on development) or making any other changes to the 2008 regulations which would significantly increase the budgets of the teams which have agreed to compete."

The development freeze has been welcomed by Ferrari's team principal, Jean Todt, but comes at a time of heightened tension between the manufacturers and the rule-makers

A deal to end the long-running dispute over how to follow the Concorde Agreement, which decides how funds are distributed between teams, after 2007 was only agreed at the weekend.

However, Mosley believes that the changes are for the good of the sport and will encourage more independent teams to enter Formula One.

"This blatant waste of money is clearly unsustainable, particularly when some of the enormous costs involved are being passed on to the independent teams," Mosley added.

Mosley claimed that the manufacturers spend over one billion euros on engine development collectively over a season.