20-21 VISION
F1’s ever-present politics have taken a back seat so far this year, but that looks set to change with a presentation by owners Liberty Media to the teams on their plans for the future, scheduled for the Bahrain weekend.
Exactly what Liberty F1 bosses Chase Carey, Ross Brawn and Sean Bratches will present is unclear as F1 Racing went to press, but the general outline of where they are trying to take F1 isn’t.
They want closer competition on track and a more spectacular show. They are planning to do this by simplifying the engines – technically an FIA decision (see Jean Todt interview, page 62) – and reducing the wealth gap between the biggest and smallest teams.
But the devil is in the detail. The engine manufacturers have already pushed back on a proposal to simplify the engines and made a counter-proposal which, unlike the joint Fia/liberty proposal, suggests keeping the MGU-H – the part of the hybrid system that not only limits the
noise of the engines but is also probably the single biggest performance differentiator between them. No substantial progress has been made on engines yet, but then no substantive talks have really been held.
As for costs, Liberty want to introduce a cost cap, but that is already looking unrealistic. Even Todt has questioned whether such a thing is workable. The likelihood is a switch to cost control. But how?
Liberty are proposing more standard parts in places which they believe make little competitive difference but incur huge costs – for example, gearbox internals, suspension and brakes. This is unlikely to go down well with Ferrari, whose chairman Sergio Marchionne has already suggested that he could pull the brand out of F1 if the individuality of the cars is not maintained.
Meanwhile, also for 2021, Liberty and the FIA have a joint project that is aimed at coming up with an aerodynamic design philosophy that allows closer racing. Many have pointed out that the answer is staring them in the face, in the form of the underfloor-focused designs of Indycars and sportscars, where downforce-heavy cars can race closer together.
All the while positions appear to be hardening. Sources inside Liberty say Carey and his boss Greg Maffei are prepared to call Ferrari’s bluff.
Todt, for his part, has said of Ferrari and costs: “Speculation is they may leave. And honestly, that is their choice. They are free. Definitely I hope they will not leave. But it can always happen. You have seen big competitors leaving. Coming back. But again, it is their choice.
“Knowing those people, who are smart business people, who are rational people, in a way, now, that is why we also we want to reduce the costs.
“At the moment [there are] about six or seven teams who are struggling in F1. So it is not acceptable to have the pinnacle of motor sport where 60-70 per cent of the field are struggling to survive.”
It might be observed that the engine issue is a red herring and the real arguments are financial – and that if Ferrari get the money they want, they will be more flexible. But how to square the circle of giving Ferrari more money while trying to create a more level playing field? This is not going to be an easy year off the track.
DEFINITELY I HOPE THEY [FERRARI] WILL NOT LEAVE. BUT IT CAN ALWAYS HAPPEN. YOU HAVE SEEN BIG COMPETITORS LEAVING. COMING BACK. BUT AGAIN, IT IS THEIR CHOICE JEAN TODT