“Standardization” of a process or a product is usually a good thing since it helps reduce costs by making things the same. However, it’s proving to be otherwise in the world of Formula One Series.
Teams Ferrari and Toyota are considering pulling out if cost cutting measures such as standard motors are actually implemented.
The FIA, citing the need to reign in the extreme spending of the likes of a Toyota and a Ferrari, feels that usage of a standard motor would allow the smaller teams in the series to have a fighting chance of competing with the “big boys.”
Conversely, teams like Toyota and Ferrari view such a move as being counter to the spirit of technical innovation and development that has become synonymous with the premier open wheeled series of the world.
Should the standardization occur as planned in 2010, it may signal an end to continuous Ferrari presence in the sport that began in 1950, and a return to sports car racing for Toyota.
Our take? Should F1 lose Ferrari, it will lose a brand that has helped to make the sport what it is. Ferrari is synonymous with racing in F1. Ferrari will ultimately survive a withdrawal from racing, such is the cachet it has created, the question is however, can F1 survive without Ferrari.
via Bloomberg
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