F1 Bosses Meet to Decide on Change

Formula One teams look set to reject radical overhaul of their sport after a season of Ferrari domination in favour of more subtle changes.

Revolutionary proposals were being put to team bosses and others at a meeting of the governing FIA's Formula One commission today but Formula One sources said the outcome was unlikely to be that dramatic.

Top teams have expressed opposition to a suggestion that drivers be forced to race every car during the course of a season and most are also against them having 'success ballast' as well.

Formula One's business supremo Bernie Ecclestone had suggested that a penalty of one kilo for every point won be added to a driver's car to level out the field. Ferrari won 15 of the 17 races this season with Michael Schumacher taking his record-equalling fifth title with six rounds of the Championship to spare.

Television audiences fell off in many countries as Ferrari's domination tightened and the sport's rulers are determined to act to spice up the show on offer and also reduce costs in tough economic conditions. Monday's meeting at a hotel near London's Heathrow airport has been described by Frank Williams as "arguably the most important meeting we have ever had".

It could certainly be for Belgian Grand Prix authorities, with their race poised to be removed from the 2003 calendar as a response to new regulations banning tobacco advertising in the country.

Scoring System

Other measures could be more an evolution of the existing regulations. Formula One sources said a suggestion that the scoring system be tightened up, offering the second placed driver eight points rather than six as at present was being given serious consideration.

So too was a proposal for qualifying to be held over two days, with Friday's session aggregated with another in single-lap format held on Saturday. Drivers would each get a warming up, fast and slowing down lap on their own - guaranteeing television exposure for every car and introducing an added variable should weather conditions change.

The Times newspaper reported that Ecclestone's ballast proposal could be modified into one that forced leading cars to carry extra fuel to slow them down. It said significant technical alterations could also be put on hold.

The majority of team bosses canvassed in Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper expressed opposition to the ballast proposal and rejected the eye-catching driver swap idea as unworkable.

"It's another attempt to mix up the grid but it's not a practical idea," Frank Williams told The Guardian newspaper when asked about the driver swap. The teams are also wary of damaging Formula One's image as a hi-tech battleground by handicapping Ferrari.

"The best should be the best," said Williams. "I don't want Williams to be humiliated by having to get Ferrari to help us. We're not in that business. We'd rather take the pain."

The team boss said he was against proposals to freeze aerodynamics and bring forward engine rules to limit teams to one per car per weekend, abolishing special 'qualifying engines'. But he said standardisation of some components such as gearboxes and brakes was workable.

"We're interested in that. We're not just a bunch of no-nos. We have diverse interests but we realise that we want to grow revenues by making the show more attractive while exerting strong downward pressure on costs."