Time will tell how much last Thursday’s meeting of the Strategy Group will actually change the direction of formula one.<\/p>\n
The group – featuring the top teams, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA – met in England amid ever-loudening voices calling for urgent measures to turn around flagging audiences, disinterested sponsors and struggling teams and promoters.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, it announced that teams will be able to choose their own tyre compounds from next year — but Pirelli immediately voiced its doubts and concerns.<\/p>\n
Also getting the green-light was faster and louder cars for 2017, with a six second per-lap boost to be achieved through aerodynamics, higher revs, fatter tyres and lighter cars due in part to the return of in-race refuelling.<\/p>\n
“It was a good meeting,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper.<\/p>\n
“We want to build the fastest cars in the world and now we will.\u00a0 That was the best moment: when everyone raised their hands to vote for building the fastest cars of all time.”<\/p>\n
However, before any of the changes can be set in stone, they will have to pass through the World Motor Sport Council, which will not meet until mid July in Mexico.<\/p>\n
Wolff acknowledged that reintroducing refuelling, for example, is in fact still being looked at.<\/p>\n
“Refuelling was banned because of cost and because the pitstops were taking too long,” he told the BBC.\u00a0 “But we want to re-explore it and see if we can make pitstops for fuel and tyres happen in the same time it takes to change the tyres now.<\/p>\n
“(But) if it’s too expensive, we won’t do it.”<\/p>\n
The fact that the notoriously-divided teams are still in the discussion phase is causing some to wonder if the changes will in fact ever see the light of day.<\/p>\n
“Basically, nothing was decided,” F1 legend Gerhard Berger told Germany’s motorsport-magazin.com, “but this is not surprising.<\/p>\n
“Everything will remain as it is,” he predicted.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 RIF | GMM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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