FIA PRESS RELEASE // 2010 'STANDARDIZATION'

In a weekend press release, the FIA announced it would go ahead with plans to standardized the engines and transmissions for the 2010 Formula One season. We reported on the FIA’s plan a few weeks back, however at the time it was uncertain who would manufacture the standardized engine/transmission packages, or whether a uniform build code would be implemented. Well, according to this weekends press release, Cosworth has been awarded the contract to build low-cost engine packages for the 2010 Formula One season. Citing Honda’s decision to leave Formula One due to excessive cost and a downturn in automotive sales, the FIA seems confident their decision to standardize the F1 field will cut costs across the board, allowing smaller, low budget teams (ed note-is there such a thing as a 'low budget' F1 team?) to be competitive with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.

Xtrac and Ricardo will supply the FIA's standardized transmissions, while Cosworth will develop and build the low-cost engine package expected at the beginning of the 2010 season. Teams wishing to use the engine packages will be subject to an initial payment of €1.97M, as well as €6.42M per season from 2010 until the end of the contract in 2012. The pricing structure is based upon four teams participating, but the FIA claims the cost could be further reduced if more teams decide to join the standardized engine agreement.

Max Mosley, in a letter to F1 team principles, offered a few options for those who did not want to participate in the FIA’s standardized plan. Teams will have the option to build an engine themselves, assuming they have been supplied with all of the necessary technical information, as well as the right to continue usage of their current engine package, with a ban on development and engine parity in place. Teams choosing a ‘non-standardized’ setup would still however be required to use the Xtrac and Ricardo transmissions.

At this time, we would like to refrain from expressing our opinions on restricted engine development and standardization in Formula One, and allow our readers to comment on the FIA's decision // 12.08.2008