I passionately believe that the most glorious chapters of
Formula 1 are yet to come, as long as we maintain systems which encourage competitive racing via regulatory stability, and foster entrepreneurial achievement yet reflect the world's changing environment in its priorities. Then the future of Formula 1 can be every bit as glorious as we want it to be.
More races will necessarily cut down on testing time, meaning there will be less scope for teams to develop new technologies. That in turn will logically reduce the sport's spiralling costs something a large majority within the paddock are adamant is imperative and by the same token potentially improve the racing spectacle.
If we can frame those rules in such a way as to keep costs in check, or even reduce costs, so much the better, Dennis is quoted as having told the forum by
Fox Sports. Every time the rules are changed, the result is almost always a cost increase and, because the smaller teams are perhaps less able to meet those cost increases, they may not respond as effectively to a rule change as their more affluent competitors.
We must change the rules because the world is changing, but because we also need regulatory stability, our rule changes must be evolutionary, not revolutionary.
There are 18 grands prix on the 2008
F1 calendar one more than last year with the Valencia street outing and Singapore night-time race the two new additions, and the US Grand Prix disappearing from the schedule. The sport's commercial supremo Ecclestone has frequently expressed his desire to see more racing and less testing.
Aside from Abu Dhabi's entrance onto the scene in 2009, South Korea and India are set to join the circus in 2010, with Russia, Dubai and Qatar amongst others all offering mega bucks for the prestige of hosting a grand prix and firmly on the 77-year-old's radar for the years to come. The record stands at 19 races in 2005, though the suggestions are 20 races could become a feature of the calendar as early as next year.
