17/03/2009
NEWS STORY
The World Motor Sport Council meets in Paris today and it is widely expected that one of the items up for discussion is an immediate change to the points system as proposed by FOTA earlier this month.
As part of its road map for the future of F1, the Formula One Teams' Association proposed changing the points system with immediate effect from the current 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 format to 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 in an attempt to "give greater differentiation/reward to grand prix winners".
However, the main item on the agenda will be cost cutting.
With the global financial crisis showing no signs of easing and car manufacturers turning to their respective governments for bail-outs, costs in F1 must be heavily reduced if the sport is to continue in anything like its current form.
While FOTA has put forward its own proposals, the FIA, in an obscure press release issue last month, is known to be putting together a far more radical package likely to include further standardization of parts and possibly the implementation of a budget cap.
With Honda having already left the sport and Toyota admitting that it came close to following its Japanese rival, many believe that despite the pain involved in the long term the sport will be the winner, certainly if it is to survive in anything like its current form.