12/11/2008
NEWS STORY
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As the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) continues to seeks its own solution to the need for severe cost cuts, not to mention improving the sport's environmental credentials, Luca di Montezemolo has admitted that Max Mosley's option of customer engines is "unthinkable".
It is unthinkable that the big car manufacturers would be willing to re-badge engines built by someone else," he told Autosprint.
Referring to the need to cut costs, he continued: "It is true, costs are prohibitive, and with FOTA we have studied various proposals in order to meet Max Mosley's requests regarding spending cuts. The engine for three races for ten-million euros means that the cost is halved compared to 2008. In 2011 the cost will come down to five million, compared to the twenty million of four years earlier. Then, there is the reduction of testing to 15,000 kilometres.
"I think we need to rely on good common sense," he continued. The general one, and that of the FIA World Council. Our approved proposals for 2009 set an example. We have two objectives, to help the smaller teams, and to allow Formula One to continue as a testing ground for research and innovation."
However, it isn't all good news, the Ferrari President remains unhappy with the introduction of KERS technology, feeling that in addition to being introduced to the sport too quickly, it is expensive and will have little or no impact on road car technology.
"The future looks very complicated with these new regulations," he said. "We feel introducing KERS this year is a mistake, even though we're in favour of F1 being a technological springboard. But the energy recovery system in the races will in any case be very different from the road system."