FOTA issues and discussion.

[Jiji_the_cat]

oooohh, i cant wait for the details, finally sounds like someone is listening to the fans. 

[Mothers Worry]

.......... no one has a monopoly in F1. We need respect of the roles, but also a push towards the future."

Unfortunately there has been a bit of a monopoly in the past. I think the bit about track designs is important becuase this is one area of the sport that could do with some variety when it comes to design.

You are correct; it does sound promising...........

[Jiji_the_cat]

definatly agree with you on the track design, hopefully they will push for new tracks to not be monopolised by tilke.

[Everso Biggyballies]

definatly agree with you on the track design, hopefully they will push for new tracks to not be monopolised by tilke.

Difficult to see anything that wont be Tilke influenced as he is now listed under the FIA  as the 'Official Track Consultant'

[Everso Biggyballies]

FOTA puts new proposals forward


The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) has called for instant changes to F1's scoring system as well as other methods to reduce the general running costs of the sport. Following a meeting yesterday (Wednesday), the proposals were discussed at the FOTA press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.


FOTA believes that a new points system of 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 would result in greater differentiation and therefore more reward to Grand Prix winners as the current system seems the same difference between each of the top three places.

This is still keeping in the tradition of not paaying points for nothing, and maintains the Top 8, but clearly gives an edge to the winner.  It also ,by virtue of taking a two points per place format to those off the podium so should encourage some challenge for that extra two points rather than one.  I have not really read them all with much thought yet, but thought I would post the proposals for us all to discuss.

FOTA has divided its ideas into seperate sections of Key Proposals (Technical, Sporting and Commercial):


Technical

2009:
- More than 100% increase in mileage per engine (eight engines per driver per season)
- Reduction in wind tunnel and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) usage
- Engine available at €8 million per team per season

2010:
- Engine available at €5 million per team per season
- Gearbox available at €1.5 million per team per season
- Standardised KERS (put out to tender, with a target price of €1-2 million per team per season)
- Target a further 50% reduction of the 2009 aerodynamic development spend
- Specified number of chassis, bodywork and aerodynamic development iterations
(homologations) during the season
- Prohibition of a wide range of exotic, metallic and composite materials
- Standardised telemetry and radio systems


Sporting

2009:
- Testing reduction (50%)
- New points-scoring system (12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1), to give greater differentiation/reward to grand prix winners
- Race starting fuel loads, tyre specifications and refuelling data to be made public

2010:
- Commitment to recommend new qualifying format
- Radical new points-scoring opportunities (eg, one constructors' championship point to be awarded for the fastest race pit stop)
- Further testing reductions (four four-day single-car pre-season tests plus one single-car pre-season shakedown)
- Reduction of grand prix duration (250km or a maximum of one hour 40 minutes) pending the approval of the commercial rights holder


Commercial

2009:
- Increased data provision for media
- Explore means by which the presentation of Formula One action can be more informatively and dynamically presented, common to other sports such as tennis and cricket, to dramatically improve engagement with the public
- Nominated senior team spokesman available for TV during grand prix
- Commitment to enhance consumer experience via team and FOTA websites
- Mandatory driver autograph sessions during grand prix weekends

2010:
- Commitment to enhance consumer experience via TV coverage


Thoughts guys and gals?

[bpratt]

FOTA puts new proposals forward


FOTA believes that a new points system of 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 would result in greater differentiation and therefore more reward to Grand Prix winners as the current system seems the same difference between each of the top three places.

 

Technical


2010:

- Standardised KERS (put out to tender, with a target price of €1-2 million per team per season)


Sporting

2009:
- Testing reduction (50%)
- New points-scoring system (12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1), to give greater differentiation/reward to grand prix winners
- Race starting fuel loads, tyre specifications and refuelling data to be made public





Thoughts guys and gals?

First of all, this common KERS package is just so wrong.... they've gone and spent bazillions to get KERS for this year, then next year all that development is just thrown out whollus bollus .

They should have at least allowed further ongoing development of the KERS idea to keep F1 the technologically best of the best, but 2010 will be a dumbing down of it.


Pointscoring sounds interesting, with larger gaps all the way down, and no v8 taxicab charity points for simply turning up by giving points only down to 8th place.

[Night crawler]

point for fastest pit stop is a crap idea cuz its totally dependant on fuel they put in....

unless and until they introduce refueling ban....

[Everso Biggyballies]

FOTA puts new proposals forward
The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) has called for instant changes to F1's scoring system as well as other methods to reduce the general running costs of the sport. Following a meeting yesterday (Wednesday), the proposals were discussed at the FOTA press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

FOTA believes that a new points system of 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 would result in greater differentiation and therefore more reward to Grand Prix winners as the current system seems the same difference between each of the top three places.

This is still keeping in the tradition of not paaying points for nothing, and maintains the Top 8, but clearly gives an edge to the winner.  It also ,by virtue of taking a two points per place format to those off the podium so should encourage some challenge for that extra two points rather than one.  I have not really read them all with much thought yet, but thought I would post the proposals for us all to discuss.

FOTA has divided its ideas into seperate sections of Key Proposals (Technical, Sporting and Commercial):

Technical

2009:
- More than 100% increase in mileage per engine (eight engines per driver per season)
- Reduction in wind tunnel and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) usage
- Engine available at €8 million per team per season

2010:
- Engine available at €5 million per team per season
- Gearbox available at €1.5 million per team per season
- Standardised KERS (put out to tender, with a target price of €1-2 million per team per season)
- Target a further 50% reduction of the 2009 aerodynamic development spend
- Specified number of chassis, bodywork and aerodynamic development iterations
(homologations) during the season
- Prohibition of a wide range of exotic, metallic and composite materials
- Standardised telemetry and radio systems

Sporting

2009:
- Testing reduction (50%)
- New points-scoring system (12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1), to give greater differentiation/reward to grand prix winners
- Race starting fuel loads, tyre specifications and refuelling data to be made public

2010:
- Commitment to recommend new qualifying format
- Radical new points-scoring opportunities (eg, one constructors' championship point to be awarded for the fastest race pit stop)
- Further testing reductions (four four-day single-car pre-season tests plus one single-car pre-season shakedown)
- Reduction of grand prix duration (250km or a maximum of one hour 40 minutes) pending the approval of the commercial rights holder

Commercial

2009:
- Increased data provision for media
- Explore means by which the presentation of Formula One action can be more informatively and dynamically presented, common to other sports such as tennis and cricket, to dramatically improve engagement with the public
- Nominated senior team spokesman available for TV during grand prix
- Commitment to enhance consumer experience via team and FOTA websites
- Mandatory driver autograph sessions during grand prix weekends

2010:
- Commitment to enhance consumer experience via TV coverage

Thoughts guys and gals?
[/size]

Just bumping this major new news item to the top of the page

(For those of you that dont use the ''NEW" button in the forum index.... that enables, or redirects you to  go directly to your last unread post in the thread)

[DVST8R]

Oh a gap of 3 points now instead of 2 for winning the race - yeah that'll make me want to risk losing the snow plough off the front of my car.

KERS thing, well I guess there is two point of view on this. One is that the teams have wasted a bunch of money developing something that can be used for one season. The other is that this would become a big area of development in the future, and they are preventing the teams from throwing lots of money at it in the future, thus not letting them get into the same hole they are in with aerodynamics at the moment.

Less testing will be good, more chance of failures during races.

Is the 8 engines per driver per season exactly what it says, ie they can use the 8 during the season whenever they choose, or is it they have to last X amount of races each?

I guess the best thing for us as fans is the increased amount of information available to the media, and enhancing the websites. Will have to wait and see what happens there.

[Mothers Worry]

definatly agree with you on the track design, hopefully they will push for new tracks to not be monopolised by tilke.

Difficult to see anything that wont be Tilke influenced as he is now listed under the FIA  as the 'Official Track Consultant'

Which, if anything, poinst to the belief by FOTA that, as a lobby group, they are more in a position to change things than they would be as individual teams approaching the FIA.

I agree wholeheartedly with BP; the whole KERS thing has been a mismanaged cluster . The fact that some teams will be using it at the start of season 2009 and others not is bad enough but the single supplier angle is not a great idea either. The there is the cost of developing something that many see as not working properly, not working at all and/or being unsafe.

[Mothers Worry]

Now they want more input into the multimedia coverage of the sport. 

See TV Coverage of Motorsport:

http://www.australianmotorsportforums.com.au/forum/index.php?topic=2615.msg44489#new

[Mothers Worry]

FOTA efforts give small teams a chance

From autosport.com:

FOTA efforts give small teams a chance

Friday, March 6th 2009, 11:46 GMT

Moves by the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) to improve the sport have not only helped makes it more financially viable for smaller teams - but they have now given them a fresh chance to be competitive.

That is the view of Force India owner Vijay Mallya, who thinks that the result of efforts by FOTA's members to bring down costs will help ensure that the sport is no longer just the domain of the big money spenders.

His comments come on the back of some early promise show by Mallya's new Mercedes-Benz-powered VJM02 car in testing.

"F1 in the past was all about money power - and money bought aerodynamic development, money bought the best engines, the best gearboxes, and money still buys the best drivers," Mallya told autosport.com.

"And my previous experience in F1 as a sponsor and then latterly as a team owner, was that every F1 team got together but only agreed to disagree. Now there is complete and total unity, there is unanimity on various subjects and I think we share the decisions taken so far.

"What this means for small independent teams is that the costs have come down quite dramatically - especially the costs of the engine, and the costs of the gearbox. In the case of Force India it is close to 50 percent. And they have banned in-season testing and put a cap on aerodynamic developments.

"Obviously the big teams do not have unlimited budgets to spend on development, which now gives the smaller teams and the independent teams a chance to be competitive."

Mallya has said that the impact of cost cutting measures agreed by FOTA and the FIA means that the budget he had committed for 2009 would produce more opportunities for his team than would have happened without their introduction.

"We controlled our costs last year, and it wasn't as if I walked in and significantly increased the budget. In 2009 I think I was very clear that we would spend a defined sum of money and do the best we could within that budget. Now things like a lot better."

He added: "At the end of the day who knows that if FOTA had not been formed, if these initiatives had not been taken, then I might not have been able to get the McLaren-Mercedes drive train. So to that extend it is great news for us."

[Supersleeper]

- Reduction of grand prix duration (250km or a maximum of one hour 40 minutes) pending the approval of the commercial rights holder

A 250 Km race turns Monza into just over an hours worth of racing. 

[Mothers Worry]

- Reduction of grand prix duration (250km or a maximum of one hour 40 minutes) pending the approval of the commercial rights holder

A 250 Km race turns Monza into just over an hours worth of racing. 

Yeah; you're right. Monza was always the fastest race on the calendar. Reducing race lengths to cut costs is the worst thing they could do.

In effect; wouldn't reduced race times amount to reduce broadcast time? Wouldn't reduced broadcast times amount to a reduction in in come form those rights?

[Supersleeper]

In effect; wouldn't reduced race times amount to reduce broadcast time? Wouldn't reduced broadcast times amount to a reduction in in come form those rights?

Yes........and that is hopefully the one reason it will never happen.

[Everso Biggyballies]

...and will actually hit the small teams harder.  Much of their sponsor exposure, OTS (opportunity to see) is limited to when they (backmarkers) come into play, as cars being lapped in the traffic. 

It is also a fact that obviously the leaders will receive much of the camera time, (percentage of total time wise), and in a shorter race this percentage is likely to be increased.  Longer races give the director more chance to introduce more variety of shots, and show any dices going on through the field, whereas short races will demand more concentration on the leaders.

It will also reduce the number of pitstops, which will also reduce camera time on specific cars that get picked up coming into pit lane, in an 'easy viewing' static and close up format.

Plus it does give the opportunity to broadcasters to reduce their coverage time to another (smaller time span) bracket.  At an hour and a half say for a race it is easy for a programmer to be generous with a time slot, and in turn the producer to pad the race to two hour timeslots with a bit of pre-amble, qualy review, slow down laps Podium and Press conference..... If a race comes in at say 55 minutes it offers programmers a tempatation to run just the race, skip the preamble, Podium and PC's and present a one hour programme containing basically the race.  They will still meet any contractual requirement to show 'entire race'.  Of course it will also entail fewer pit stops thus reducing race lenth marginally.

We have already lost the slow down lap at longer tracks like Spa because of the demand to get the Podium presentation and PC happening quicker after the race,.... (yes that is why at Spa the drivers cross the finish line, round La Source and turn into the back of the pits rather than ontinue round on a full slowdown / 'lap of honour')

[Mad Maper 13]

I think the time limit should be increased to 3 hours and a 300-400km race

[bpratt]

- Reduction of grand prix duration (250km or a maximum of one hour 40 minutes) pending the approval of the commercial rights holder

A 250 Km race turns Monza into just over an hours worth of racing. 

The 250Km race length would be tolerable (just) if added in to the fine print that circuits like Monza and Spa must remain as a 300km race... better yet a 350km race for those sort of circuits ! 

[DVST8R]

The cynical part of me would suggest that  has been in Bernie's ear about only wanting to do a 2hr telecast, instead of a 2hr 15 min (I think) that they currently do. When  first started they gave it a whole 2hr 30 min slot.

[Supersleeper]

The cynical part of me would suggest that  has been in Bernie's ear about only wanting to do a 2hr telecast, instead of a 2hr 15 min (I think) that they currently do. When  first started they gave it a whole 2hr 30 min slot.

This is a FOTA idea - the teams have come up with this suggestion, Bernie doesn't have anything to do with these suggestions that have been put forward. As for FOM wanting to se a race length decrease. A shorter race means less advertising revenue during the race, which means lower returns for the rights to the races - FOM making less money? - no way.
This is the reason that we should be confident that race lengths will not be shortened.