Ferrari 'manipulating rule changes'

Williams have a long history of conflict with Ferrari

Proposed Formula One rule changes claimed to be an attempt to cut costs are an effort to manipulate the sport in Ferrari's favour, according to Williams boss Patrick Head.

Head, the technical director of the Williams team, said that the changes were part of the political games that dominate F1.

He said the plans to cut down on mileage over a Grand Prix weekend would play into Ferrari's hands.

The package of proposals that are being discussed by F1 teams include:

A limit on the number of engines used to just one over a weekend;

A proposal to cut Grand Prix weekends from three days to two;

It's all politics - we're being manipulated

Patrick Head
Williams technical director

An idea to force engine manufacturers to offer to supply a second team.

The plans are intended to be a means of cutting costs for teams in an increasingly difficult economic climate, but not all teams believe they will achieve that aim.

Team bosses are due to vote on the measures on 19 March.

Head said that they would help Ferrari, who use Bridgestone tyres, unlike chief rivals Williams and McLaren, who use Michelin.

The past season showed that the French company Michelin's tyres needed to be worn in to optimise their performance and Williams have routinely used Friday sessions to prepare them.

"The Michelin tyres are very good tyres but they require scrubbing, sometimes 10 laps and sometimes 15 laps," Head said at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.

"If you've got a two-stop race, that means we've got to do 45 laps to prepare our tyres for the race.

Accusations

"If you're Ferrari with tyres that don't need scrubbing - and Michael Schumacher who only needs one lap to get a time out of the car - your best way of doing damage to your two serious competitors is to propose one engine for a weekend.

"It's all politics - we're being manipulated."

Head's accusations are part of a long-running war of words between Ferrari on one side and Williams and McLaren on the other.

The two British-based teams believe that Ferrari have too much influence in the way F1 is run, and that they get away with things other teams would not.

Careful

The rule changes are an attempt to stop teams running special engines for qualifying.

These are more powerful and high-revving and have a very limited mileage.

They are then replaced by more durable ones for Sunday's race.

If teams were limited to one engine per driver for an entire weekend, they would likely have to be careful how many laps they ran with them to ensure they lasted.