Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo flew from Maranello to London this week to meet with F1's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone. The Italian press, including the authoritative daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, say the headline of the meeting was the future, after both F1 powerbrokers admitted they are no fans of the 'new' face of the sport.
More inclusive meetings are now scheduled for the Bahrain grand prix weekend, to also be attended by FIA president Jean Todt, and on the agenda could be proposals to rev up the quieter and arguably less exciting 2014 spectacle. On the table will be discussions about the controversial fuel flow meter and whether to abolish it, and how shortening the grand prix distances could spice up the show and also the volume, allowing the engines to rev closer to the 15,000rpm limit.
Dominant Mercedes, and its competitive customers including McLaren and Williams, are likely to oppose any rule change proposals. But Renault, who with Red Bull are struggling with the FIA-homologated fuel flow sensor, may argue that one solution to the sound problem would be to ease the consumption limits.
"The rules set a maximum of 15,000rpm," Remi Taffin is quoted by Italy's Tuttosport, "but with restrictions on the consumption of fuel it goes down to 12,000rpm and at the end of the straights it can be 10-11,000. This makes a big difference," he insisted. "If you want a different sound, you would have to increase the rpm, but it doesn't make sense if the limits on the consumption of fuel stays the same."
It also emerges that Ecclestone, who met with CVC bigwig Donald Mackenzie in Malaysia last week, could be looking to revamp the shareholding structure of F1 by inviting top teams like Ferrari and Red Bull to buy into the sport. (GMM)
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