Mosley u-turns on F1 technology

MOTORSPORT boss Max Mosley has performed a dramatic u-turn in his stance on technology in Formula One.

A month after proposing low-tech rules for 2008, the president of governing body, the FIA, said he wanted to allow cutting-edge technology from that year.

The move will be seen as an attempt to woo the F1 road-car manufacturers in the row over the future of the sport. The manufacturers, who are threatening to set up a rival series, had been dismayed by Mosley’s low-tech ideas.

Mosley’s views had been altered by a survey of F1 fans carried out by the FIA, a spokesman said.

In the survey, 80% agreed that advanced technology set F1 apart from other motor sports, and 64% said they looked forward to technological innovations each season.

In a letter sent to the F1 teams and made public yesterday, Mosley asked the teams to consider the “technology/cost issue” and what should be permitted in future.

Mosley said that the FIA’s preliminary view was that “technology which helps the driver to control the car... has no place in F1, which should remain a supreme test of drivers skill.

“On the other hand, technologies which improve car performance by, for example, saving energy or reducing mechanical losses should be encouraged.

“These do not devalue a racing driver’s skills and their development can benefit the ordinary motorist.”

He mentioned “hybrid” energy retention systems, which are used in environmentally friendly road cars to store up energy used during braking to give a power boost for acceleration.

“Such systems will eventually be on all road cars... deployment in F1 would greatly accelerate the rate of development of such devices as well as promoting public acceptance and consumer demand,” he it said.

Mosley said there was a strong case “for putting the emphasis on useful technology as a means of gaining performance.”

McLaren were developing regenerative power in 1998 only to have it banned “If there is some support for such ideas, we should like to discuss possible action for 2008 as a matter of urgency,” Mosley wrote.

He also suggested the legalisation of movable aerodynamic devices, which have been banned in F1 for decades.

Mosley is at war with five of F1’s car manufacturers and seven of its teams, who are pushing ahead with plans to set up a rival series.