FOTA efforts give small teams a chance
Moves by the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) to improve the sport have not only helped makes it more financially viable for smaller teams - but they have now given them a fresh chance to be competitive
That is the view of Force India owner Vijay Mallya, who thinks that the result of efforts by FOTA's members to bring down costs will help ensure that the sport is no longer just the domain of the big money spenders.
His comments come on the back of some early promise show by Mallya's new Mercedes-Benz-powered VJM02 car in testing.
"F1 in the past was all about money power - and money bought aerodynamic development, money bought the best engines, the best gearboxes, and money still buys the best drivers," Mallya told autosport.com.
"And my previous experience in F1 as a sponsor and then latterly as a team owner, was that every F1 team got together but only agreed to disagree. Now there is complete and total unity, there is unanimity on various subjects and I think we share the decisions taken so far.
"What this means for small independent teams is that the costs have come down quite dramatically - especially the costs of the engine, and the costs of the gearbox. In the case of Force India it is close to 50 percent. And they have banned in-season testing and put a cap on aerodynamic developments.
"Obviously the big teams do not have unlimited budgets to spend on development, which now gives the smaller teams and the independent teams a chance to be competitive."
Mallya has said that the impact of cost cutting measures agreed by FOTA and the FIA means that the budget he had committed for 2009 would produce more opportunities for his team than would have happened without their introduction.
"We controlled our costs last year, and it wasn't as if I walked in and significantly increased the budget. In 2009 I think I was very clear that we would spend a defined sum of money and do the best we could within that budget. Now things like a lot better."
He added: "At the end of the day who knows that if FOTA had not been formed, if these initiatives had not been taken, then I might not have been able to get the McLaren-Mercedes drive train. So to that extend it is great news for us."
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