08/07/2009
NEWS STORY
Following the recent allegations that the new teams joining F1 in 2010 were told by the FIA that they would have to use Cosworth engines, we are now finding out just how close the two worked with one another.
Pitpass' business editor Chris Sylt has seen an email from Cosworth indicating certain arrangements which, it claimed, the FIA asked it to enforce right at the outset of its dealings with potential teams. These arrangements include that Cosworth required the £1.2m deposit from each team on signing and that, as a pre-requisite for accepting an entry, the FIA required evidence of a signed engine contract for any team which wanted to race under the budget cap. This latter point may raise the issue once again of the degree of visibility the FIA expected to have over budget capped teams' finances.
The email also reveals some interesting details about the Cosworth engine itself which apparently is guaranteed to have a peak power of 750BHP with a manufacturing tolerance of 10BHP either side. Cosworth also claims that it will provide an electronics package at an annual lease price of £500,000 per team. According to the email, this sum covers on-car electronics and electrical systems (except for sensors and actuators) together with base and track support for a two-car team.
It seems to be a good package but we are still left with the question of whether the FIA should have insisted that new teams take it up.
If the rejected teams which refused to run Cosworth decide to pursue the matter this question might just get answered.