Dennis: Teams will not be dictated to

Eurosport - Tue, 21 Oct 13:02:00 2008

Formula One teams are united in seeking to cut costs but they will not be dictated to, McLaren boss Ron Dennis has said ahead of a meeting with the sport's governing body on Tuesday.

FORMULA 1 Ron Dennis McLaren 08 - 0

The Briton was disappointed that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) had pre-empted the meeting by announcing last week that it intended to change the rules to force teams to use a standard engine from 2010.

The teams met late into Saturday night at the Chinese Grand Prix so they would be able to present unanimously agreed cost-cutting proposals at the meeting with FIA president Max Mosley in Geneva.

"That document was going to go forward on Tuesday and we were disappointed to agree a timing and then be given a concept that was obviously quite radical," the McLaren team principal said.

"I take great exception to being portrayed as people who can't look after their own destinies and need to be told what they're going to do. It's not the way forward because it brings out the worst in people, not the best in people.

"We embrace all ideas but ultimately the team feels strongly that if they have a unanimous agreement on the direction they wish to go ... they should have a very strong right for our opinions and wishes to be taken into consideration."

Dennis said that getting unanimity among the fiercely competitive teams had not been easy in the past but the worsening economic climate had focused minds.

"The situation facing Formula One at the moment can only temper those who were once intransigent, they've become far more flexible looking at the bigger picture," he said.

"I think that applies to the smaller teams, they have to move towards the centre, the bigger teams have to move towards the centre."

The FIA has argued that the costs of Formula One are unsustainable given the current economic situation and must be slashed to ensure none of the 10 teams leave the sport.

Independent teams such as Toro Rosso and Force India, who do not produce engines, welcomed the FIA's position but the car manufacturers - McLaren's partners Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, BMW, Honda and Toyota - are less keen on it.

Dennis described the newly-formed Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) as "critical" to the future of the sport but said other stakeholders should not be concerned.

"We are strong and together but not a threat, we are looking to be constructive to Formula One," he said.

"We don't have any motive but to address the issues we had six months ago and the issues that we now have starting to emerge from a very difficult economic situation which has yet to really impact on Formula One."

Reuters

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  1. The whole point of F1 is that different manufacturers­ make the fastest car conforming to the­ "Formula" laid down.
    If you want to reduce­ costs, then reduce the complexity of the Formula. V8­ only 3.0 litre engines 15,000 Rpm rev limit. Cheap and­ easy to make, doesn't need exotic material due to­ lower stresses.
    Simplified wings, only allowed at the­ ends of the cars, their effect can be maximised with­ minimum wind tunnel time.
    Slick tyres & ground­ effect to provide mechanical grip and high cornering­ speeds,
    Limit the costlier materials, suspension­ components and other complex components made of­ aluminium instead of Carbon Fibre.
    Costs will be­ considerable less. Overall speeds will be pretty much­ the same,
    How hard can it be?

    From Mike, on Tue 21 Oct 9:57AM

  2. Why not force the teams into a World Rally kind of­ situation, where a certain amount of their technology­ needs to be used in standard road cars (not hypercars).­ All of the manufacturers can do this (including Ferrari­ through Fiat) and therefore creates a real link between­ F1 and production cars that the FIA are trying to­ promote, inter-connects two strands of R&D and will­ result automatically in engines being more­ cost-effective in the sport. BMW aren't going to­ produce an engine that doubles the price of their cars.

    From ginger_gitt, on Tue 21 Oct 8:00AM

  3. why dont they just limit the engines i.e engines are­ now at 2.4l v8 engines...... why don't they use the­ money that manufactures use every season to power up­ the engines ( they cant now i no )

    2010/11 rule 2.2l­ v6 and see if the Manufactures can build a engine that­ lowers fuel loads but still goes around the same speed

    From Marti, on Tue 21 Oct 7:34AM

  4. DBOWZEE
    YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THE RULES HAVE BEEN SLOWING­ F1 CARS DOWN FOR YEARS
    I WONDER HOW FAST THEY COULD BE­ IF THE TEAMS COULD HAVE TURBO CHARGERS LIKE THE 1500CC ­ TURBOS VS 3LITRE NON TURBO OF OLD A MODERN F1 CAR ­ COULD BE A LOT FASTER
    AS WITH SUPER BIKES 1000CC NOW­ DOWN TO 800CC MANUFACTURES GET THE POWER BACK UP SO­ THE THE GOVERNING BODY'S BRING IN NEW RULES TO SLOW­ THEM DOWN AGAIN

    THING IS MORE POWER AT PEAK REVS DOES­ MAKE CARS/BIKES MUCH HARDER TO CONTROL
    AN 800 HORSE­ POWER CAR THAT WEIGHS NEXT TO NOTHING IS AS FAST AS ANY­ MODERN RACE TRACK
    PERMITS DON'T FORGET THESE GUYS­ NEED RUN OFF AREAS
    YOU MAY THINK MONACO IS A BIT MORE­ DANGEROUS THAN A SHORT CIRCUIT
    TRY THE ISLE OF MAN ­ THAT'S A REAL STREET RACE
    BET THERE IS NOT 1­ DRIVER IN F1 GOT THE GUTS TO GO ROUND THERE

    From Russell P, on Tue 21 Oct 7:10AM

  5. The people that make these amazing machines actually­ help your average driver choose the car that he/she/the­ company selects. If this "market" becomes a­ "no go" it will be to the detriment to every­ car manufacturer. If I can understand what Ron Dennis­ is saying, then everyone who posts their comments here­ must also understand? otherwise what are you doing­ here? We here the word "CIRCUS" being thrown­ around, almost with glee. Trust me people, if you have­ not lost all faith already in the sport of all sports­ you will if our Bernie gets his way. Yours in despair

    From HELEN, on Tue 21 Oct 6:22AM

  6. What I would like to know is, why has Bernie Ecclestone­ been allowed to get away with making so much money on­ the back of british racing originally, but refuses to­ help Silverstone which as we all know is the home of F1­ now.
    Bernie delve into your deep pockets and shed some­ of that £200 million back into Silverstone.

    From MICHAEL, on Tue 21 Oct 6:09AM

  7. This whole 'single engined' thing smacks of the­ standard BE negotiating ploy, put a scary and­ unworkable proposal on the table, convince everyone you­ are serious, set impossible deadlines, then­ 'compromise' to achieve the outcome he wanted­ from the beginning. Note to the teams, don't be­ bullied, it's time to play BE & MM at their own­ game

    From Bentley Boy, on Tue 21 Oct 6:06AM

  8. Hopefully some of the F1 teams read (and even­ contribute) to these sites. If they do they will grasp­ how deeply dissatisfied fans are with the current­ incestuous, and self serving governing body (and I­ include Ecclestone in that). They point to the dangers­ that spiralling costs, and economic downturn pose for­ F1, and propose their rescue master plan of a single­ engined premier racing category. This is a ridiculous­ smoke screen to deflect from the real problems. Firstly­ the amount of money that is syphoned out of the sport­ into numbered Swiss Bank accounts of BE et al, and­ secondly the corruption and megalomania that see's­ results decided off rather than on the track.
    The teams­ should not be bullied into quick fix suggestions ,­ which will be ignored anyway. They should take their­ time, use their power, and set in motion a championship­ that is free of the disgraceful FIA, and money grabbing­ BE, a competition where the teams share fairly in the­ proceeds of F1. Ron now is the time to start that ball­ rolling.

    From Bentley Boy, on Tue 21 Oct 5:54AM

  9. it should be run what you bring stuff the bhp rules its­ stupid we the public would love to see these cars going­ as fast as they can imagine the money they would­ produce from the public and television companies would­ pay for almost everything

    From chris, on Tue 21 Oct 5:52AM

  10. WE ALREADY HAVE A CHAMPIONSHIP WITH THE SAME ENGINE ITS­ CALLED FORMULA FORD (SH-T)
    WHY DON'T THEY JUST CAP­ BHP TO SAY 800 HORSES AND LET THE TEAMS DECIDE WHAT­ ENGINE TO USE

    From Russell P, on Tue 21 Oct 5:39AM

  11. Much prefer to watch A1 than this farcical parade of­ eotistical airheads.rd is as big arat as max and­ bernie.F1 has been dying a slow death for years and its­ only now that some fans are realising it.I truly feel­ sorry for the fans of all the teams because at the end­ of the day they are the losers not all these t****rs.

    From MICHAEL, on Tue 21 Oct 4:35AM

  12. I hate to say it, but maybe all the other teams will be­ better off without the facist's that are Heir­ Moseley & Ecclestone.
    The fact (and I am not just­ saying this) that Ferrari (and there history is great)­ have been giving a leg up this year, be it with the Spa­ decision, and the Fuji decision is inconsistent to say­ the least, but what makes me really laugh is the fact­ that Ferrari can cheat on TV (Kimi [ahem] lopsing time)­ is again a cheating way to do things, Massa is @#$%,­ and he doesn't deserve any title what so ever, he­ hasn't got raw speed, and grit like Schuy and­ Lewis.

    I also think that in order to keep the fans of­ F1, it would be nice to see Lewis win the Driver's­ Championship.

    From Niall, on Tue 21 Oct 4:19AM

  13. Come on guys stop with the insults already. Everyone­ will have different ideas on this site but having a­ slanging match and posts with all the symbols @#* and­ so on is just petty. Lets stick to debating the­ Headline and we'll all get on a whole lot better.

    From Baldyman, on Tue 21 Oct 4:01AM

  14. stivsf1: You are a scourge on these pages and a­ disgrace to F1 supporters worldwide.

    As for the­ article, Honda running a car with a Toyota engine?­ Ferrari running a Renault engine? BMW running a Merceds­ engine? To do so would make a laughing stock of the­ participation of the manufacturers.

    From ginger_gitt, on Tue 21 Oct 3:56AM

  15. FIA are full of sh.t, and change witht he wind. They­ decided a few seasons ago that F1 was no longer for­ manufacturers only. So people could buy cars and enter­ F1. They then decided that has to change because F1­ always was a manufacturers racing competition. So they­ questioned red bull buying a complete car from Ferrari­ as they did not build the chassis etc. You could always­ buy the engine. At one time, apart from Ferrari, all­ other teams used a Ford Cosworth engine.

    Now it is­ even more manufacturer based with many teams building­ cars and engines. Now they want to change that.­ It's eff all to do with the economy, it's all­ to do with power and control. The engine would have to­ be built by a team not taking part for it to be fair.­ What back to Ford Cosworth again. They recently pulled­ out for a second time when Jaguar disappeared. Can you­ see any team using a Ferrari engine whilst racing­ against a Ferrari team. No way.

    Ron, take you cars out­ of this country. Build and Indy car, you will take Indy­ racing apart, and make real money as well. Give F1 to­ the Ferrari fans so they can watch a procession of­ their cars week after week coming first and second.­ They have no interest in racing, or watching anything­ exciting driving, just seeing Ferrari win. Pack the­ tracks with Ferrari fans watching two Ferraris going­ round in circles. Great sport, if you are a Ferrari­ empty head. Then when they shout Viva Ferrari every­ time a Ferrari goes past, whilst flinging their arms­ about splashing their beer over everyone else, those­ getting the beer down their backs will at least also be­ Ferrari fans

    From POTTER, on Tue 21 Oct 3:54AM

  16. hey all .all am goning to say is this .-news­ headlines-(massa or hamilton or any other driver)won­ the 2010 championchip in a­ (ferrari_honda)//(mclaren-honda)or what ever that­ engine is. how intresting .good bye f1

    From awadeen_f1, on Tue 21 Oct 3:47AM

  17. I think it's time for that break away league , and­ forget Bernie and Max .

    From barry w w, on Tue 21 Oct 3:35AM

  18. MCA [52] I WOULD AND I BELIVE THE MAJORITY OF F1 FANS­ AROUND THE WORLD

    From stivsf1, on Tue 21 Oct 3:24AM

  19. Here's a thought Max! Instead of summoning the­ teams from all around the globe to you ivory tower in ­ Geneva, why don't you get off your backside and­ visit them when they are all assembled at a nearby­ circuit. What would that save the teams in airfares and­ hotel accomodation? £200,000?

    If you really want to­ cut costs then stop changing the rules to justify you­ existance, let the teams develop their existing cars­ rather than having to start from scratch each year to­ accomodate you half-baked new rules.

    From Rob C, on Tue 21 Oct 3:17AM

  20. CLISPY DUCK [53] is this readable English, you are an­ @#$% with a pedigree

    From stivsf1, on Tue 21 Oct 3:17AM
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