Gene in favour of keeping driver aids

With serious engine development already frozen until 2011, and traction control to be banned from next year, Gene has said that he didn't think driver aids destroyed the racing.

"No. I mean, there needs to be a good equilibrium," he said in Poland, during a promotional event organized by Shell in Poznan.

"At the end of the day, F1 is the pinnacle of technology. So if you remove all the technology, you know, it's not gonna be F1 anymore.

"Therefore I think there needs to be technology, there needs to be some aids. But we have to be careful there are not too many, because if there are too many, the driver is not important anymore.

"So I think the FIA has this role of always making sure there is an equilibrium."

Although many people think traction control doesn't let the drivers show their true talent, as it equalizes the differences between them, Gene said their personal skills in fact still played a vital role.

"I think so, yes. I mean, if you see last year, (Fernando) Alonso won, but (Giancarlo) Fisichella finished 3rd or 4th, so the driver made the difference," he pointed out.

"The second driver in the Renault would not have been world champion. That also happened sometimes with Michael (Schumacher). So drivers do make a difference now.

"The way it is going in the future I don't like it too much. There's going be one software for everybody, there will be no traction control, and I don't like it, because I think then technology will not be so important anymore.

"I think now, in 2007, there is a very good equilibrium. But this is only my opinion. FIA people probably have more experience than me, so if they go in a certain direction, they probably know better than I do."

After winning with the new Peugeot 908 HDI on its debut two weeks ago in Monza, Gene said diesel racing engines were still not theoretically suitable for Formula One.

"In F1 nowadays it is illegal, so you couldn't have one anyway," he said. "But I think if you tell the engineers about the possibility of diesel engines, they'll probably say no, because you have the disadvantages with the weight. The engine is much heavier, and in F1 weight is so important.

"And there is also the driveability, because diesel engines are usually turbo engines. So in F1 at the moment I cannot say it. Although I have to admit that the power, the feeling when you drive it is very similar.

"Diesel engines have a lot of power as well, they feel like a real racing engines. But easily there's no power, and suddenly a lot of power, which is no good for F1, it's better to be more smooth."