First of all, chassis manufacturer Dallara made the first step into the cost cutting direction, reducing the price for some spare parts. Secondly, the championship officials decided to ban wind tunnel testing – just like in Formula 1 – as well as rig testing. More importantly, though, no GP2 team will be allowed to conduce on-track testing after the first racing weekend of the new season. The in-season testing ban was also inspired from Formula 1.
Also, a team will only be allowed a staff of 13 people, with the number being reduced to 12 from mid-season on.
The GP2 Organization will also play an active role in helping the teams survive the financial difficulties they may encounter in 2009 by “allocating an exceptional credit in spare parts” for all teams. This way, a team would find it easier to field 2 cars per season.
“We cannot ignore the world’s financial crisis that affects us all. We need to make sure we can go through the present delicate time by finding solutions both in the technical and sporting areas. However, we did not want to change the standards of quality that have been the assets of the success of GP2 since 2005,” said the series' organizer Bruno Michel for the GP2 official site.
“The balance is therefore very difficult to define, but we are trying to find the right level to keep the series as successful as ever. We have been looking at all the areas of our business and we have come up with the different steps that we will implement as of now,” added Michel.
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