Ferrari baulks at budget cap plan – reports
The German newspaper Bild claims that Ferrari, the famous Italian marque that in 2007 won the drivers' and constructors' titles, does not agree with FIA president Max Mosley's plan to limit each team's annual spending at (US) $150m.
According to the magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Ferrari prefers the FIA's previous proposal about limiting aerodynamic development, while other teams – such as Force India – are pinning their hopes on utilising multiple wind tunnels to make progress towards the front.
The topic was discussed at a meeting on Friday with Mosley and the eleven team bosses in Paris.
Despite Ferrari's opposition, Mercedes-Benz competition director Norbert Haug, like most other F1 chiefs, welcomes the plan.
"We welcome any meaningful action to reduce costs," he said, albeit cautioning that more detail about the budget cap still needs to be discussed.
Auto Motor und Sport claims that another meeting between the teams and Mosley has already been scheduled for February.
It is believed that, in exchange for the teams' interest in cost-cutting, the current ten-year freeze on engine development may be reduced to five years.
An entirely new, economical and environmentally-friendlier engine formula may then be introduced in 2013.