PARIS — Formula One’s governing body raised a voluntary budget cap to $59 million Thursday, banned refueling during races and opened the starting grid to an additional three teams from 2010.
The World Motor Sport Council said the teams that sign up for the cost-cutting cap will be given more technical freedom, including movable wings, engines without a rev limit and unlimited out-of-season testing. There will also be no restrictions on wind tunnel testing.
F1 has 10 teams with two cars each, but that will be increased to 13 teams and 26 cars in 2010. The WMSC is banning refueling during races to save money on transporting refueling equipment.
“Formula One faces a period of great uncertainty during this harsh recessionary period,” the WMSC said in a statement. “Funding a team is increasingly seen as a discretionary spend for the majority of team owners and sponsors. To ensure a healthy grid all are agreed that costs need to be cut.”
FIA president Max Mosley said Wednesday he hoped budget caps would be welcomed by Formula One teams who were previously skeptical about cost-cutting plans. FIA had proposed a budget limit of about $44 million for 2010, but F1 team bosses cautioned against it, saying costs reductions should be gradual. Thursday’s statement said costs in future years will be decided by FIA at a later date.
The Formula One Teams Association is due to discuss the decisions in London on Wednesday, but the Williams team has already expressed its approval.
“Williams has supported the introduction of a budget cap since the idea was first put forward early in 2008,” team manager Frank Williams said in a statement. “We would like to see all teams operating to one set of regulations and under a budget cap in 2010 and that is the position we will be advocating within FOTA when we meet next week.”
The global financial crisis has hit the sport hard, with Honda announcing it was leaving F1 in December. In January, the teams unanimously agreed to a series of cost-cutting measures, including limits on expensive testing and a cheaper engine for smaller teams starting in 2010. FOTA agreed to those proposals.
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