Analysis: Mixed Reactions to Radical Changes

The changes unveiled on Wednesday by Formula One's ruling body, the FIA, have caused different reactions in the Grand Prix community.

One of the most relevant changes was for the expensive special engines used in race qualifying sessions to be abolished with teams allowed just one engine per car at each Grand Prix weekend from 2004, a controversial move for some.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Williams technical director Patrick Head told the Guardian newspaper. "That said, I feel pretty neutral about it because ultimately I don't think the status quo will be changed. The good teams will still be ahead."

Team boss Eddie Jordan was more enthusiastic however: "This is a good start," he told the team's website. "Anything which makes the show more exciting, whilst containing costs, can only be seen as an advantage for Formula One.

"All these measures will make Grands Prix better for fans."

Britain's Eddie Irvine warned Formula One bosses against turning the sport into Hollywood-style spectacle with rule changes announced this week.

"Formula One is a sport, it's not Hollywood. We have got to keep the spectacle as good as possible, but not by being manufactured," the 36-year-old Jaguar veteran has told BBC radio.

Demoted

Any driver whose engine needs replacing or who has to swap to the spare car will be allowed to start the race, but 10 places back from where he qualified.

That opens up the possibility of unpredictable starting grids, with top drivers such as Ferrari's World Champion Michael Schumacher having to line-up in mid-table should their engines fail on the Friday or Saturday.

Such a 'manufactured' situation could lead to more overtaking as drivers in more powerful cars are forced to carve their way back through the field. The FIA also announced tougher sanctions, applicable immediately, with stewards able to demote a driver 10 places on the grid at his next race if found guilty of causing an "avoidable" incident.

FIA spokesman Francesco Longanesi said the measure was "another arrow in the bow of the stewards" and would not necessarily be applied. "It does not in any way substitute for the existing penalties," he said.

Stewards already have a range of sanctions they can use and Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya in Malaysia last weekend became the first to get a 'drive-through' penalty after clashing with Michael Schumacher at the first corner.

Longanesi denied the latest measure was a response to incidents in the two races so far this season, including a first corner pile-up in Australia, and said it would only be applied after a hearing involving the driver concerned.

Drivers already risk fines or suspension in more serious cases - something that might be applied when demotion to the back of the grid is unlikely to have much of an effect since the team or driver regularly occupy that position anyway.

Last season's Brazilian Grand Prix provided a classic example of the sort of incident that might now lead to demotion in a subsequent race when Dutchman Jos Verstappen drove into the back of Montoya's Williams while being lapped.

The crash put both cars out of the race and deprived Montoya of a possible victory in only his third Grand Prix.