Mosley gears up to convince F1 teams to accept radical new rules

The future of Formula One will be on the agenda today when the sport’s rulers meet team bosses in Monaco.

Max Mosley president of the sport's governing body, the FIA has summoned team bosses to a summit meeting to convince them to accept radical new rules.

The Englishman has put forward a plan for what he hopes will be a cheaper, lower-technology and more entertaining Formula One.

He is sure to run into opposition from the team owners whose car company paymasters have already set the ball rolling for a breakaway series in response to the proposals.

Formula One's technical and political environment is currently dictated by the Concorde Agreement between teams, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.

That agreement, however, expires in 2008 and Ecclestone and Mosley must attempt to broker a new deal to keep the sport on track. Mosley's plans to remove electronic driver aids and introduce smaller engines and some standard parts are slated to come into force in 2008 but any changes must be agreed by the majority of team.

The key motivation behind Mosley's suggestions is his desire to see more teams on the grid. For that to happen costs must be cut.

Mosley wants to ban expensive electronic gadgets such as traction control and semi-automatic gearboxes while also opening up the option for new teams to buy or borrow cars from existing squads. His proposal to allow a satellite team to score constructors' championship points for their big-name backers brings Formula One junior squads a step closer to reality.

Sauber have for some seasons co-operated closely with Ferrari but under Mosley's plans, they would be able to share all equipment and even have their points count towards Ferrari's total.

How many of Mosley's proposals actually come to fruition is open to debate, with the vast majority of suggestions likely to be fiercely opposed by the teams.

However, support for some of Mosley's plans came yesterday from BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen who said the German manufacturer supports the FIA's determination to increase the spectacle.

Theissen also agreed that the cost of competing at the top level has spiralled upwards, but reiterated that as far as the technical regulations are concerned BMW is prepared for further debate.