Radical engine rules proposed

FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting called F1's seven manufacturers together at the governing body's headquarters in Paris on Wednesday to try and generate unanimous support for new engine regulations designed to slow the cars down in 2005.

And in a bid to convince the FIA that it would be more beneficial to stick with one engine per weekend, the three manufacturers proposed two radical rule changes that they claim will benefit the sport.

Autosport.com understands that the two proposals put on the table for the FIA to consider are:

For teams to be allowed to fit new engines from Saturday morning that must then be run for free-practice, qualifying, the race, testing and the Friday of the following grand prix weekend. This would nearly double engine mileage and lead to an automatic reduction in testing

For those engine manufacturers not supplying customer teams to contribute up to £2 million towards an engine pool, with extra finance coming from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, to help fund independent teams

The FIA has taken on board these proposals and has gone away to consider the matter. And although it appears that the governing body will not willingly back down from the two-race rule, sources claim that with Toyota and Ford also now showing some support for these ideas then they cannot be completely ignored.

One high level insider close to an engine manufacturer said: "It was good to have the meeting and I think we have made some progress. The FIA is considering the position of all the manufacturers and looking at what the next step will be.

"Our fear is that if the engine rules go through next year then it will not be a workable solution because some teams will not run on the Friday of the second grand prix - and that will not be good for the fans. We all realise that a two-race engine is not the best solution, but it will be difficult to go back on the rules once they are set because engines take a long time to design and develop."