F-1 driving aids banned as teams consider cost cuts

LONDON January 16, 2003; Alex Duff writing for Bloomberg reported that Formula One's ruling body banned a driving aid for the 2003 season, stopped teams using a spare car and pledged more changes to help the sport weather a decline in sponsorship revenue.

Teams may no longer use telemetry, a device that allows the pit-lane crew to tinker with a car while it's being driven, said Max Mosley, president of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. The season opens March 9 with the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne.

The FIA imposed the changes because the teams in this season's lineup -- at 10 the fewest since 1971 -- failed to agree on how to cut costs. Annual budgets range from about $50 million at Minardi to about $250 million at Ferrari, which won the team championship last year.

"We've gone over to zero tolerance," Mosley told reporters. "Once the teams got over the shock of this, it went down quite well."

Teams will be limited to using two cars on race weekends, and the FIA may also ban traction control this year. The device to eliminate wheel spin at the start of races definitely will be outlawed in 2004.

The FIA made the changes in a week in which the Arrows team became the second to fold within a year. A U.K. court ordered it to shut down on Monday after demands from debtors, including two former drivers.

Sponsors Out

Orange SA, France's biggest mobile phone operator, and Deutsche Post AG, Europe's largest postal service, are among companies to end sponsorship agreements with Forumla One teams since last season.

"The changes are good news," Minardi principal Paul Stoddart said. "There's a solidarity among teams -- they want to see the smaller teams complete the season."

The Jordan team, which like Minardi has one of the smaller budgets, spends about $1.2 million a year on telemetry and traction control, according to Gary Anderson, the team's director of racing and testing. At some races, the telemetry unit isn't used, he said.

The FIA had legalized the aids the past two years because bans on them were difficult to police. Mosley vowed to overcome that problem.

"From now on, the teams will have to physically prove they aren't using them," he said.

The FIA also outlined future changes to cut costs. In 2004, teams will have to use a standardized braking system and rear wing, and long-lasting car components.

Engine Limits

They'll have to use the same engine for at least two races in 2005 and at least six races in 2006. The Prost team spent as much as $40 million a year on engines before going bankrupt a year ago.

Bernie Ecclestone, who co-owns F-1's media rights, said the sport was "in good shape" despite the exit of two teams. The rule changes would have an immediate effect, he added.

"The last few months, Formula One should have been more in the financial columns of newspapers than in the sports pages," Ecclestone said. "That's going to change now."