08/02/2017
NEWS STORY
Purists had better look away now, or at least hope that somebody, somewhere is considering setting up a rival F1 series, for the sport is considering using standardised parts as part of its cost-cutting plan.
Just days into its purchase of Formula One, new owner Liberty Media was admitting that spending by the teams, not to mention the ever growing chasm between the haves and have nots, is one of the key issues that must be addressed. Indeed, the warning came at a time Manor had just been put in administration and Silverstone owners, the BRDC, revealed they were considering dropping one of the most historic events on the calendar, the British Grand Prix.
Brought on board to head the technical side of the business, Ross Brawn admitted that one of the key areas he intended to address is spending, revealing that the sport's perennial bogeyman 'the budget cap' is being considered.
McLaren executive director Zak Brown has revealed that one measure being considered by the teams, who are keen to come up with their own solution rather than have the new owners and the FIA implement theirs, is the standardisation of parts.
"There are some that think we should standardise some parts," he told Autosport.
"Teams have shown they're very clever," he admitted. "I don't think you can control costs just by controlling what's on the cars. We'll just find other areas, the windtunnel being a great example; we pulled that back and now CFD budgets are through the roof, so I don't think you can manage it only by standardisation of parts.
"You can do some of that and I don't think the consumer knows visibly what the suspension on our car looks like, compared to the suspension on a Williams, as an example. So I think things can be standardised to reduce costs that don't improve the show and the fans don't recognise the difference.
"But I still think we need a budget cap, which most other sports have," he concluded.
While some fans - sorry, "consumers" – will be aware of the differences between the suspension on the McLaren and the Williams, it is the fact that they are different and thereby one might be better and the other prone to failure that introduces the element of uncertainty and reliability the sport needs.
At the same time, the introduction of standardised parts, using Brown's suspension as an example, would only further stifle creativity in the sport.
And then there's the whole question of standardised cars... the dreaded one-make formula.