FIA president Max Mosley has given Formula One teams three months to come up with serious cost-cutting measures or the governing body will do it for them.
In a letter to the F1 team principals, Mosley states that Formula One is becoming “unsustainable”. He cited manufacturer-backed teams employing upwards of 1,000 people just to put two cars on the starting grid and the lack of fuel-saving initiatives, especially at a time when energy consumption is a world-wide concern.
“Also, with attention on energy problems worldwide, Formula One cannot afford to be profligate in its use of fuel,” added the Briton.
Mosley said some major sponsors might already have left the sport without energy-saving initiatives already in the pipeline.
He said there was a need to at least halve the costs of manufacturer teams and, with Super Aguri already folding this year, ensure independents were financially viable without affecting the spectacle.
With the price of oil soaring to record levels on world markets against a backdrop of increasing economic gloom, Mosley invited the teams to make proposals that should aim to extract more useful energy from less fuel.
Despite efforts to present greener credentials, including the use of at least
5.75 percent bio-fuel from this season, Formula One remains for many the epitome of gas-guzzling wastefulness.
The rasping 2.4 litre V8 engines can burn close to a litre of fossil fuel per kilometre.
“The target should be a 50 percent reduction from today’s levels of fuel consumption by 2015, while maintaining current speeds,” Mosley said.
The governing body wants a 20 percent reduction in F1 fuel consumption by 2011.
“We would like to go further, with developments to allow the cars to run in close proximity to one another without losing performance,” the ruling body said.
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