Hakkinen Questions New F1 Rules

Former Formula One World Champion Mika Hakkinen has questioned the timing of the introduction of changes for the 2003 season, and has claimed the top teams will benefit to open the gap to the smaller outfits.

"They are changing the rules again, and I don't like it: stability is important," Hakkinen said in an interview with Italy's Autosprint magazine. "I was very surprised at this string of changes because it becomes a big mess for all people involved in F1.

"Now the teams need to change everything in a big rush, and in the end only the strongest and richest will again take advantage of it. And that's not all: the season starts with one set of rules and ends with a completely different one. How is this possible? I don't agree with such big changes in such a short time."

Formula One's ruling body, the FIA, announced a radical package of measures to cut costs and liven up racing, with the ban of the so-called driver aids. Fully automatic gearboxes and traction control will be allowed at the start of the season, but they will be banned as of the British Grand Prix in July.

The FIA also said that pit-to-car telemetry, the systems enabling engineers to change settings while a car is out on the track, would be banned from the start of the season.

Hakkinen's former manager and 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg also questioned the changes and said they are unlikely to reduce costs.

"[FIA president Max] Mosley is making a big mess," said Rosberg. "All of this will make teams spend money, rather than save it. Take Renault, for example, who have hired a new driver just for the Friday morning testing, and will build a car and a test team just for that.

"It will be like employing one team and a half. Does all this save money? How long before the other top teams will do that too?"

Among other measures to liven up the show, the FIA will introduce a new format for qualifying, with the drivers having a single lap to determine their position on the grid. Hakkinen, who retired at the end of the 2001 season, believes his former rival Michael Schumacher will benefit from the new format, and tipped compatriot Kimi Raikkonen to be his closest rival.

"I am sure Michael Schumacher will adapt completely to the new regulations and faster than the others," he said. "I think that, in general, not much will change for the drivers. While things will change, in a big way, for the teams. It will be them, and the designers, who will make the difference.

"I don't see any problems for Michael, but the name that comes to my mind is that of my fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen: he'll be perfectly suited to the qualifying lap, I'm sure. Wait and see."