Mosley sets deadline for manufacturers

Although BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Renault and Toyota have signed a document binding the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association (GPMA) together in not leaving the rebel plans until next September, Mosley seized the initiative on Monday and told them they will instead have to decide their future plans in the next few months.

That is because he intends for the entries to the 2008 World Championship to close sometime in April, effectively meaning that those who do not commit then could lose out to new teams planning to make the jump to F1.

Mosley said that he hoped the next meeting of the FIA World Council on March 22 would agree to open entries to the 2008 championship on March 23 and then close them just 'a few weeks later'.

With a maximum limit of 12 entries for the 2008 championship, and a high likelihood of an over-subscription because the hurdle of the $48 million deposit will be dropped, any manufacturer stalling will risk getting overlooked if they do not sign-up.

Although there will be provisions for teams to enter after the April deadline, Mosley made it clear that that would only be possible if there was a vacancy.

"I would hope that everyone would enter, but there is no guarantee that they will," he said.

"From 2008, nobody has either a right or an obligation to enter the championship. We may have fewer vacancies than there are teams out there.

"We are going to stick to 12 teams because of safety and all the pits now are arranged for 12. There are six in there, there are three possibly four people talking about entering and there are five GPMA teams.

"It makes sense to open entries soon and then to close them again quickly. Then we can discuss with the people that have entered refinements to the regulations before the deadline of the end of June.

"The regulations for entry are identical to the present day except that we have deleted the $48million bond. We would look at their factory, their business and be satisfied that are capable of doing what we wanted.

"It would mean a good GP2 team would have a good chance of getting an entry than say I would if it was just me on my own. There will be provision in the rules saying we could accept a late entry but you can only do that if there is a vacancy.

"The GPMA were saying until recently they were going  to run their own series and if they do we will do everything we can to help.

"It would not surprise me to see some defections (from the GPMA) next month when we open the entries. I hope everybody will be sensible and see these are sensible rules and everyone will enter."

Mosley has also further increased the pressure on the manufacturers by revealing controversial plans to reduce costs by introducing same-spec engines from 2008 to 2010.

Under the scheme, manufacturers would have to lodge their engine design with the FIA by next June and then that specification of power-unit would be frozen for 2008, 2009 and 2010 - meaning no development at all for three years.

Reliability problems, however, could be addressed as long as the work did not result in a performance advantage.

"It would save up to one billion Euros per year on engine development," explained Mosley.

"I have a real determination to see this through. If F1 is to prosper we have got to get the costs down in order to help the independents survive.

"The GPMA and the manufacturers have been complaining about not getting enough money back from the sport, but they are spending between them one billion Euros per year. It would be better to cut that than try and get more back from Bernie Ecclestone."