Mosley Finds Cosworth Solution

One day after Honda confirmed their Formula 1 quit starting next year, FIA president Max Mosley publicly announced that the international body has reached an agreement with British engine supplier Cosworth for a standard unit. Mosley confirmed that the standard power train (engine + transmission) will cost around £6 million, with the price decreasing as more teams sign up for purchase.

“We have completed the tendering process and are now in exclusive negotiations with Cosworth together with Xtrac and Ricardo Transmissions (XR) to supply a complete Formula One power train starting in 2010. The engine will be a current Formula One engine while the transmission will be state-of-the-art Formula One and a joint effort by two companies which already supply transmissions to most of the grid.”

“The cost to each team taking up this option will be an up-front payment of £1.68M (€1.97M) and then £5.49M (€6.42M) per season for each of the three years of the supply contract (2010, 2011, 2012). This price is based on four teams signing up and includes full technical support at all races and official tests, plus 30,000 km of testing. The annual cost will reduce if more teams take up the option, for example to £4.99M (€5.84M) per team with eight teams. It will further reduce if less than 30,000 km of testing is required. Neither engine nor transmission will be badged,” said Mosley on Friday.

The news is, however, that F1 manufacturers (car makers) will not be obliged to sign up for the Cosworth unit should they provide an engine with the same performances. Mosley insisted that, despite not using the same Cosworth power plant, all teams will have to sign up for the XT transmission by 2010. The teams will have until December the 11th to make up their minds about what engines to use two years from now.

Earlier last week, Honda already announced quitting the sport due to financial difficulties. The Japanese car maker confirmed that they will continue funding the F1 team only until March 2009, after which they will cease all activities inside the Great Circle. This was, in fact, the main argument used by Mosley to stress out the importance of cutting costs inside Formula 1 before any other major car maker would follow Honda's example in the near future.

“The announcement of Honda's intended withdrawal from Formula One has confirmed the FIA's longstanding concern that the cost of competing in the World Championship is unsustainable. As the guardians of the sport, the FIA is committed to working with the commercial rights holder and the remaining members of FOTA to ensure that Formula One becomes financially sustainable,” added FIA in a statement following Mosley's announcement.