Newey Fears F1 Costs will Rise

Changes to Formula One qualifying could lead to soaring costs rather than savings for teams, McLaren designer Adrian Newey said today.

Newey said the rule changes announced on October 28 were "not thought through" and suggested that some of the richer teams could build special lightweight cars for one-lap qualifying only.

"There is a real chance that people will build qualifying cars," Newey told the BBC. "At the moment you need a car that is capable of 12 laps, with short turnaround between each run. Under the new rules, there is one flying lap and then you put it (the car) away again.

"Engine-wise, that means lower mileage so you can take things to more of an extreme. Revs is obvious but there are others as well. With the chassis, cooling springs to mind. You don't need to worry about heavy radiators, and taken to an extreme you might not have any radiators at all."

Newey said teams needed to do something to close down loopholes in the regulations. "The teams need to sit down and say 'let's not try to be clever with each other - what avenues are open and how can we close them?'"

Team principals are due to meet again on December 4 to discuss changes to the technical regulations that could reduce costs and improve the show.