JULY 24, 2004

How to waste money in Formula 1

The current discussions over the rules are already costing teams considerable amounts of money because anyone who has pushed ahead and made preparations for the 2005 season may have to throw away most of the work that has been done. This is particularly tough on the engine manufacturers who have engines already running, designed to last for one race weekend per engine. Talk of having engines lasting for two races would mean that the units that have been designed would need to be scrapped and new engines build. There are also beginning to be problems on the chassis front as some teams have already built the first prototype interim cars which will be the basis of the 2005 chassis. Jaguar Racing recently finished its first car but with the discussions about changing the front wing means that the entire aerodynamics of the car will have to be changed and that means that the chassis must now be redesigned. The team reckons that the rule change has cost it around $500,000 in development costs.