Car Racing 2009

In F1, the primary reasons for the threatened split, were Max Mosley and his autocratic style of governance and the teams having no say on the rules, he was trying to bring in. How can you have budget caps, when the rules keep changing on a whim?

Lets be quite honest here, if you keep changing the rules every season (as it seemed), you are creating additional costs....that nice 3 litre V10 that once worked so well and had a development path, became a rather expensive piece of scrap metal, when the regs changed to using a 2.4 litre V8. You can't just saw off 2 cylinders (both engines are 300cc per cylinder) and expect it to work. About the only things that could have been used from the bare V10 engine, would've been the pistons, rings, rods, a few bearings and some nuts and bolts - the rest goes in the bin. Any engineer, knows that unit cost reductions come with longevity of production, with a development path, production volume and this just wasn't happening. A smaller engine, with the smaller masses involved, will also tend to be one that will rev higher.

Mosley, who is not an engineer, but a barrister (lawyer) just couldn't see this blinding piece of logic. The same principles for the regulation changes to the front and rear wings, also apply. Changes cost money. Gone are the days when the engineers for racing teams, were enthusiasts who basically worked for the love of it and a couple of drinks in the pub! Good engineers, also cost money. Time spent, prototyping, testing, modifying and making something brand new, costs money - lots of it. The smaller teams, who used 'customer engines', were not the ones who bore the brunt of the costs involved with making new engines etc - it was the manufacturers like Mercedes, Toyota, Ferrari, Renault and formerly, Honda.

While an agreement has been reached, I can't see why there should not be, super-charged or turbo-charged engines allowed to be used, with capacity restrictions and allowances also made to permit even diesel engines to be used. Years ago, in F1, we had cars with turbo-charged engines using active suspension...now look at it!



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Don't take life too seriously, as you'll never come out of it alive!

I will be pleased, when Mad Max has actually gone. His tenure has been a rather troublesome one, to say the least. Perhaps we will see some of the 'dumped circuits' make a very welcome returm to the F1 season and be rid of the 'staged events'. I might even hold my breath.....but not for too long! lol



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Don't take life too seriously, as you'll never come out of it alive!

I will be pleased, when Mad Max has actually gone. His tenure has been a rather troublesome one, to say the least. Perhaps we will see some of the 'dumped circuits' make a very welcome returm to the F1 season and be rid of the 'staged events'. I might even hold my breath.....but not for too long! lol

I think Mad Max has been the 'big cheese' at the FIA for about 15 years. All you have to do, is spot when the really silly rules started coming in, like, no tyre changes (potentially life-threatening) etc, etc.....



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Don't take life too seriously, as you'll never come out of it alive!

I think Mad Max has been the 'big cheese' at the FIA for about 15 years. All you have to do, is spot when the really silly rules started coming in, like, no tyre changes (potentially life-threatening) etc, etc.....

One can only conclude that, as per any lawyer, he spoke loudly to some people and said nothing to others, That, is probably something you could trace back to his involvement with his father's politics (Oswald Mosley - in 1930's UK).



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Don't take life too seriously, as you'll never come out of it alive!

A former barrister and amateur racing driver, Mosley was a founder and co-owner of March Engineering, a successful racing car constructor and Formula One racing team. He looked after legal and commercial issues for the company between 1969 and 1977. In the late 1970s, Mosley became the official legal adviser to the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA), the body which represents Formula One constructors. In this role he drew up the first version of the Concorde Agreement, which settled a long-standing dispute between FOCA and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), the then governing body of Formula One. Mosley was elected president of FISA in 1991 and became president of the FIA, FISA's parent body, in 1993.

A former barrister and amateur racing driver, Mosley was a founder and co-owner of March Engineering, a successful racing car constructor and Formula One racing team. He looked after legal and commercial issues for the company between 1969 and 1977. In the late 1970s, Mosley became the official legal adviser to the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA), the body which represents Formula One constructors. In this role he drew up the first version of the Concorde Agreement, which settled a long-standing dispute between FOCA and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), the then governing body of Formula One. Mosley was elected president of FISA in 1991 and became president of the FIA, FISA's parent body, in 1993.

Quite incrdible, really, that he 'forgot his roots', but then, it also says much about him and how out of touch he has become. I was aware of his involvement with March, which made his actions in recent years even more difficult to understand. Oh well, at least he is going....

It is apparent a trade-off has unfolded - with the current teams now due to be on the grid for 2010, and without Mosley as ruler. It has to be remembered though that five years ago, in June 2004, Mosley announced he would stand down from his position in October of that year - only to rescind his decision a month later.