TBK-Light.com

The FIA has introduced a budget cap in Formula 1 for the 2010 season, as autosport.com predicted last month, following a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council on Tuesday.

The voluntary cap will be set at £30 million per team per season, and those outfits signing up to the option will be allowed total technical freedom.

The FIA hopes that the move will make it easier for news teams to enter F1 and allow those teams without manufacturer support to be guaranteed a long future in the sport.

As a way of enticing teams to take up the option of the budget cap, the FIA has stated that it will tweak the regulations to ensure those with restricted finances will be just as competitive as those spending unlimited amounts of money.

A statement issued by the FIA said: "The technical freedoms accorded to the low-budget teams will be adjusted from time to time to keep their median performance on a par with the median performance of the unlimited-expenditure teams. The regulations for the unlimited-expenditure teams will remain stable and fixed."

FIA president Max Mosley confirmed that the £30 million budget cap would include drivers' salaries.

When asked what was included, Mosley said: "Everything except the motor home (if the team has one) and any fine(s) imposed by the FIA. All expenditure will be included, even the salaries of the drivers and team principal.

"If the team is profitable, it can pay a dividend to its shareholders, who may well include a chief engineer, team principal or even a driver. But we would make sure the team was genuinely making enough profit to cover the dividend."

Mosley also outlined details of what technical freedoms teams that signed up for the budget cap would be allowed.

"A different (but standard) under body, movable wings, no engine rev limit, no restriction on the number or type of updates, no homologation requirements, no limits on materials, testing, simulators, wind tunnels and so forth - most of the cost saving measures introduced over the last few years will not apply to these teams," he explained.

"However measures to save money during the race weekend, such as the ban on refuelling and the Saturday parc ferme, will apply to both categories of team. We are also thinking about a much bigger capacity KERS for the cost-capped teams. But all this must be covered by the £30 million - no exceptions and no free or subsidised outside help.

"Anything supplied by another team or an outside supplier will be included at its full commercial cost except for items supplied to all teams at subsidised rates under the single supplier arrangements negotiated by the FIA (e.g. for tyres), which allow all teams to benefit equally from reduced costs."

He added: "The engine will comply with current rules, except that there will be no rev limit and no development freeze. However, the entire engine expenditure will come out of the cap. If the engine is supplied by an outside commercial entity or another team, we will have to be satisfied that there is no hidden subsidy.

"If a team has its own engine, we will check its full cost just as we will the rest of the car. The current rule limiting manufacturers to supplying engines to one additional team each will remain in place."

Formula 1's world champion in 2009 will be the driver with the most wins during the season, the FIA said on Tuesday.

The governing body also announced that it had rejected a proposal by the Formula One Teams' Association to change the current system. The proposal had been sent by FOTA to the FIA earlier this year.

The FIA announced the current 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 system will stay in place, but confirmed the world champion will be the driver who wins the most races in a season.

The points system will be used in case two or more drivers win the same amount of races during a year.

The Constructors' Championship remains unaffected by the changes.

"The WMSC accepted the proposal from Formula One Management to award the drivers' championship to the driver who has won the most races during the season," said the FIA in a statement.

"If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points, the allocation of points being based on the current 10, 8, 6 etc. system.

"The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will be decided by the current points system. There is no provision to award medals for first, second or third place. The Constructors' Championship is unaffected.

"The WMSC rejected the alternative proposal from the Formula One Teams' Association to change the points awarded to drivers finishing in first, second and third place to 12, 9 and 7 points respectively. "

Widening the gap between points awarded for first and second would have done that (increase the incentive to win) fine and still given consistency a (reduced) chance of succeeding. Doing things the way they are means that a guy who wins 5 and spins off every other race could beat a guy who wins one less but is always on the podium to the title, which is just wrong.

Winning is important in F1, but it's been given far too much weight. Rewarding drivers with more points for winning was fine, but taking away the consistency element so drastically really messes it up. The whole point of a championship is that it is a collection of points from all events.

What a retarded system this is!

I say give it atleast one season if it fails then the rebuild begins i spose. But hey thats just my opinion.