From a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

THE F1 REVOLUTION: TEAMS AGREE TO NEW RULES PACKAGE FROM FIA

INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, May 5, 2004 – Formula One teams have agreed to almost all of the basic concepts of the drastic and far-reaching rules change package proposed by the FIA for 2008.

The new rules cover a wide range of agendas, including slashing costs, improving the spectacle of F1, highlighting driver skills by eliminating electronic driver aids and encouraging new teams to enter the sport.

The United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis has been the only round in America on the F1 schedule since the event’s debut in 2000. This year’s United States Grand Prix is June 20.

Following a meeting May 4 in Monaco with the FIA, the teams and F1’s commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, FIA President Max Mosley talked about what their agreement.

“As far as doing things sooner than 2008, there was a wide measure of agreement that we need to bring in changes much sooner,” Mosley said. “I think we are going to see a new engine formula in 2006. The engine manufacturers are going to make proposals in addition to those that we have made to reduce the engine costs by 50 percent.”

F1’s engine manufacturers spent one thousand million Euros per year on the programs.

“It should not be too difficult to reduce that by 50 percent,” Mosley said. “That will make a big difference. A thousand million Euros is simply not sustainable; it is not sustainable by any calculation.”

The FIA and the teams will decide if it will be more economical to have the current 3-liter V10 engines made to last three, four, five and eventually six race weekends, or to introduce a new 2.4-liter V8 engine designed to last two race weekends. A standard electronic control unit will be used in 2008 or perhaps sooner.

“On the transmission, braking and steering,” Mosley said, “the only discussion there was whether it would be more economic, given the current state of knowledge, to stay with an electronically controlled differential but with the electronics completely under the control of the FIA, so that there were no traction control or anything of that kind. And whether we would be better staying with modern gearboxes rather than purely manual gearboxes.”

There was complete agreement there will be no traction control and no electronic driver aids, Mosley said. There was also an agreement on standard brake discs, pads and calipers and on reducing the weight limit. Plus there will be substantial reductions in aerodynamic downforce and changes to the tires and also an increase in the drag of the car, Mosley said.

The cars will be in parc fermé (impound) each night during a race weekend. Teams will be allowed to make adjustments to the car but not rebuild it.

“There was complete agreement for the need of a single tire supplier,” Mosley said. “All of the teams recognized that if we had a single tire supplier it would be far less expensive, because of testing; it would be fairer, because everybody would be on the same basis; and there would also be a very important safety aspect in that with a single tire we would be able to control the degree of grip and therefore preventing excessive cornering speeds.

“We might even be able to give up the grooves and go back to ordinary slick tires. The wheels will be wider at the back and narrower at the front.”

The teams have been asked to devise a new qualifying format.

While no agreement was reached on if teams should be allowed to sell their cars to new teams, Mosley said there is a strong desire to encourage new teams to enter F1. Just 10 teams participate in F1 now, two less than the maximum specified by the Concorde Agreement between the teams.

“We will now see a much easier entry route for new teams,” Mosley said. “It is recognized that we do need 12 teams to take part.”

There will be guaranteed entries for teams that are contracted to the championship for a long time, and a unanimous vote by all the teams no longer will be required on new rules changes.