FIA president Jean Todt has warned that Formula One must dramatically change if it is to survive.
Outlining his vision for F1's future, Todt said that F1 must adapt to reflect the real world concerns of the public.
"We need to cut costs, improve the show and draw investors," said Todt. "F1 must understand that the world has changed. How can you explain that an F1 car needs 80 litres of fuel to cover 100 kilometres?
"I don't like the cost cap; we must get to a reduction through clear rules, for example with a single aerodynamic package for the entire year. Will the cars slide more in Monte Carlo? [Perhaps, but] then the quality of the drivers will be heightened.
"It's not acceptable to have given up with KERS. The teams complain that it costs too much? Then they must find the way to save money. The teams are sensitive when we talk about lap times, less sensitive when the environment is discussed."
Todt also confirmed that new teams can miss the first three races of the season. Both Campos Meta and Team US F1 are reported to be struggling to be ready for the season opener in Bahrain on 14 March.
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Re: Todt: 'F1 must change'
With limited engine development potential the "Green" abilities of teams is much reduced. If they coulde develop the engine they could try and make an F1 car more efficient so that it could run the whole GP on less fuel, and that would have a direct relationship with what a road car could do.
I do agree, however, that F1 needs to reduce costs. The new teams a struggling to find money, even the existing teams are too. How to reduce the cost of F1 is something I can't answer.
Re: Todt: 'F1 must change'
One would have thought the fuel consumption of the actual F1 cars is the least of F1's worries - if they want to talk "green" then lets start with the media circus that follows F1, the private jets, the dozens of lorries, cargo 747s, etc. Next we'll have hybrid F1 cars with stop/start technology (for sitting on the starting grid waiting for the others to line up), low-resistance tyres and higher-gearing for improved fuel economy.
Perhaps it would be greener to just scrap F1 altogether if he's so bothered about it.
Re: Todt: 'F1 must change'
I think he's talking a lot of sense, and I for one quite like the idea of standardised bodywork, but a lot more freedom on the mechanical side including the re-introduction of KERS. I'd also like to see a fuel limit as I believe they have in Moto GP. What we have at the moment really amounts to a "one make" F1 series, where there is little or no mechanical difference between the cars. So there's no technical interest (unless you're an aerodynamicist) and no transfer technology towards road cars.