A proposal to cut costs by changing the rules to allow for pooling of resources and co-development has been rejected by the sport’s biggest teams.
Lotus, Force India and Sauber had proposed that the sport allow smaller outfits to work together to create a base chassis, sharing the development, manufacturing and wind tunnel costs.
They would then be free to develop the chassis, internals and aerodynamics on their own and race independently of the other teams which helped to develop the base.
Any team which chose to go down this route would be known as a ‘semi-constructor’ and they would be limited by a budget cap to ensure they gain no competitive advantage by pooling resources.
However during February’s F1 Strategy Group meeting, the proposal was rejected by the larger teams as they believe the idea goes against the competitive nature of Formula 1.
The cost-saving idea is one of many put forward by the three midfield teams according to Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn, who disclosed it as part of a cost-cutting report commissioned by the FIA.
“As part of this interview, we disclosed very detailed information and suggestions that we had already come up with in the past with Lotus and Force India,” she told newspaper Blick.
“There were very concrete proposals in the areas where we see potential for savings. It is clear that we can still have a very good show for a lot less money.”
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