Jean Todt wants agreement on lowering cost of engines

FIA president Jean Todt, right, is hopeful an agreement can be reached that would lower the cost of engines and help teams struggling financially. Karim Sahib / AFP

Formula One’s governing body said progress can be made to bring down the cost of engines for struggling smaller teams.

International Automobile Federation President Jean Todt said he is hopeful that an agreement can be struck between the sport’s strategy group and F1 commission when they next meet.

“I am going to fight about the price of the engines for the small teams,” he said. “I will do the best. I cannot guarantee the result, but I will really get into that.

“On engines, I think we can find a solution. I am optimistic we will get something.”

Todt said he would also again present broader proposals to cut costs that were rejected earlier in the year by the strategy group.

He listed F1’s four priorities as being to reduce costs, optimise the circuit’s stature, make power trains cheaper for private teams and to ensure all parties stayed in the sport.

“We are going to re-present to the different stakeholders through the strategy group the same proposals which were refused,” he said. “But do they want a cost cap? Do they want to follow the proposals we have to reduce the costs?”

F1 introduced a new and much more expensive V6 turbo hybrid power unit this season, replacing the old V8s.

An engine supply costs up to US$30 million (Dh110.1m) a year and is the single biggest outlay for smaller teams like Force India, Lotus and Sauber.

Engine costs are due to come down gradually by 2020, but even then, will cost around 20 per cent more than the old V8s, and there have been calls for a cap to be introduced.

Meanwhile, yesterday saw the first of the two-day post-season test at Abu Dhabi as all 10 teams worked on early developments for the 2015 season.

Valtteri Bottas, who was third in Sunday’s Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, was fastest for Williams, with a time of 1 min, 43.396 secs, ahead of the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes-GP.

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