Autosport International
Brawn eyes major F1 overhaul
Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has urged his fellow car designers to seize the chance to make a radically better Formula 1 within the next fewyears - with cars that can generate far more excitement
Speaking at the Autosport International show, Brawn claimed that the imminent end of the Concorde Agreement after 2007 should be made the most of - and galvanise the sport's governing body and teams to work together to create a better F1.
The Concorde Agreement, the document by which F1 is run, guarantees stability of rules and means that major technical rules cannot be changed without the unanimous agreement of the teams - something that is very hard to get.
But once the agreement runs out, the way is open for the teams to frame a series of more interesting rules - and Brawn does not want the opportunity to be wasted.
"I think F1 has an opportunity at the moment to really set the reference points for 2008," said Brawn. "The Concorde Agreement finishes at the end of 2007 and we are therefore able to define what sort of F1 car we want in 2008 without the need to get every team to agree.
"The FIA has now started a discussion to think about what sort of car we should have in 2008 and I think, because it is so far ahead, the teams won't take a selfish view on their own competitive position today.
"I think one of the things that we have got to think seriously about is dramatically reducing downforce. The problem at the moment is that the cars cannot follow each other. As soon as you start to follow a preceding car you lose downforce when you go through a corner, so to improve the racing you need a dramatic reduction in downforce.
"It could be an important consideration, so I think in future years you
will see us go in that direction."
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