For Mosley it’s all a game of chess
Is it really about cost savings, or is it about Mosley squeezing the manufacturers until he says checkmate!
Mosley has said that all teams have to sign up to these new regulations by the end of March, at which point they also have to commit to take part in the 2008 season. Only the teams who've signed up can put forward proposals to change the rules.
A classic example of how Mosley tries to pressure the teams into agreeing to his terms. If they don't like the new rules, they have to commit to the future if they want to change them. And that, in turn, would mean they'd have to forget about plans for a breakaway.
It appears Mosley is willing to play poker with these large car manufacturers. They could get fed up with being backed into a corner and just leave the sport, or they just decide to play his game and give-in.
But as John Howett, of Toyota, said: "Three years out is quite a long way to freeze an engine after a very limited period of running with it." Over the next 18 months, the teams will all have to submit the basic design of an engine, and that's what they'll have to use throughout the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons.
If all have less HP than, say Renault, they will be locked into three years with an inferior engine. We just don't see them agreeing to this unless the FIA does as we proposed Champ Car do with their Honda and Ford Cosworth 2.65 L turbo engine – put all the engines on a dyno and tweak them so they all have essentially the same HP and Torque curves. Then blueprint the engines and freeze them in time for a span of three years, at which time everyone will enjoy a level playing field and may the best team win based on chassis, strategy and driver skill.