08/12/2008
NEWS STORY
With talk of a customer engine and gearbox package for £5.49m a season, it is little wonder, in the wake of Honda's withdrawal, that there is talk of a return to the 'good old days', when almost anyone could buy a customer chassis, a Ford Cosworth engine, a Hewland gearbox and go F1 racing.
However, Williams, in the eyes of many the sole remaining independent, remains opposed to the introduction of customer cars, a move which would lower costs and (hopefully) boost grid numbers. Indeed, talking to Reuters, Williams Chief Executive Adam Parr claims the British team would rather field three cars.
"There is the scope for teams to put three cars on the grid and if we have eight teams with three cars, that's 24 cars which is four more than we have had this year," said Parr. "Even if we went to seven teams, we'd have 21 cars.
"My opinion is that it is far better to have seven or eight constructors than seven or eight constructors and three or four customer teams," he added. "Williams would rather compete on equal terms with constructors and take our chances than mess around with customer teams."