This week's Grapevine brings you information fresh from the paddock on: High-Brow Politicking Mercedes on the Offensive

High-Brow Politicking

All the recent talk about the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) that has been making the news recently bears some mention.

Since nearly all the major car manufacturers became involved in Formula One, it is understandable that they took a look at their expenditure, and the way in which the money generated by the sport is spread around. It is little surprise that they didn't like the Concorde Agreement, which hands less than fifty percent of the revenues back to the teams. Perhaps it was inevitable that they would get together, and form the GPWC, threatening a rival series, in order to pressure Formula One Management (FOM) – or, more specifically, Bernie Ecclestone – into better terms: if not immediately, then at least for the inevitable renewal of the Concorde Agreement.

However, the pressure didn't pay off. Ecclestone, who is nobody's fool, pointed out that dividing the series would mean neither gets as much exposure, or cash. Holding up the effects of the CART/IRL split as evidence, it appeared clear that, even if the new series kept 100% of the profits, the total earnings could not possibly hope to add up to the amount that is fed back to the teams by FOM under the present system.

That didn't make the GPWC go away, though. The meetings continued, and the noises insisted there would be a rival to Formula One in 2008, when the manufacturer-backed teams had completed the obligations they committed to under the Concorde Agreement. Those teams on the grid that had not tied their fates to manufacturers were approached, and sounded out, to see if they would consider defecting with the remainder. Mixed responses – all cautious, inevitably – ensued.

Over the summer, as a number of the CART teams defected to the IRL, mostly under sponsor pressure to appear in the Indy 500, a new collection of rumours started. Ecclestone was seen talking to Chris Pook, and from that, despite the meeting officially going down in history as a 'friendly chat', things are on the move again in the series.

On announcing the plan to mandate normally aspirated V10 engines from 2005, Pook aligned CART to the current Formula One engine roadmap – tying to essentially the same engine, but with an extended lifetime. Fanning the flames, rumours that CART is planning to position itself as the premier Formula One feeder series have been welcomed: the comparison would be good for both series. It offers the existing F1 engine manufacturers a 'free' ride in CART, as the development costs for their CART programs completely absorbed by the Formula One program. Not only that, but it brings compelling exposure in the most important car market in the world.

It would all seem pretty innocuous, just a pretender series seeking to ride the F1 coat-tails, except that with the GPWC did more than make noises about running off with the majority of the teams: they want to set up a whole new governing body to rival the FIA.

Should that happen, sparks would fly. The manufacturers have a fair amount of political weight, and could certainly make things interesting; however, the FIA is a powerful force in its own right, and already has both recognition and legal precedent on its side. More than that, owning both the rights to and name of Formula One, the FIA controls which series carries that label. And of course, at the point the existing teams break away, the 'feeder' series, which runs on the same engines, is a natural successor to that title.

It would do more than just fulfil the role of successor. Consider the current complaints concerning Formula One. Often voiced, the formula is believed to be expensive, with a relatively poor show, poor access for the fans, and inadequate exposure in the key market. Putting things into perspective: the whole CART series ran in 2002 on less than the Jaguar team's budget. The majority of races take place in the States. Fans still have ready access to the pitlane and the drivers. And, of course, CART is recognised for putting on a decent show of racing.

To make things really interesting, there's something else to consider. With Rockingham dropping CART, the series is already looking at options for a replacement European race: with no Formula One event, how long will it be before Spa makes itself available to host CART?

Mercedes on the Offensive

Having taken a lot of stick over an apparent power deficit in recent seasons, Mercedes are preparing for an offensive in 2003 that should see the return of much of the respect lost since their Championship years.

The plan for next season could give McLaren and Mercedes something of a roller-coaster ride. For the first time since '98, the team is not designing a package with the Championship, specifically, in mind – rather, in the quest to close the gap to Ferrari, the aim is to optimise for speed in all departments. On the downside, the new car stands a reasonable chance of starting the season with an even poorer reliability record than the current season.

Unusually, the driving force behind this appears to be coming from Mercedes, via Norbert Haug, rather than Ron Dennis. Whilst slipping to third in the Constructors' Championship, there have been question marks raised from the pundits over the power being developed by the Mercedes engine. Not only is it being left behind BMW and Ferrari in the 'perception stakes', but the Toyota and Cosworth units are being considered as useful, at least for raw power.

Taking the challenge to Ferrari is going to take a non-trivial leap in performance – packaging requirements have been made stricter for the new season, with the maximum weight targeted at a very optimistic 87kg. The additional power is partly to come from lighter moving components, (reducing internal momentum, but raising the effect of friction), and partly from some solid progress with the oil, which has a higher operating temperature and reduces friction. Raising the running temperature of the engine brings a small benefit in its own right, but also eases the requirements for the radiators, giving the aero team more room to manoeuvre.

The new engine is, apparently, offering some considerable promise. Whilst it has not been the most reliable unit Mercedes has ever produced, the problems are being ironed out pretty much when they are discovered, and it is developing plenty of power when it runs. The mappings still need a bit of work, to smooth out the power curve, in order to stop the traction control kicking in when it shouldn't really be needed; but the outlook from the test team is comfortably positive. Indeed, coupled up with the aggressive progress being made with the chassis, there is no doubt that the package has made a considerable leap forward.

Whether that will be enough remains to be seen: for some perspective on the challenge being faced, the new BMW unit is already supposed to be developing 920 bhp at around 19,300rpm; it has been alleged it is on target for 950bhp in race trim by mid-season. And with the new 'one lap qualifying' format permitting the absolute limits of tolerance to be explored, the optimistic target is for 1000 bhp available over a qualifying lap at the end of the season. It's probably just pie in the sky, but the very concept of BMW targeting 1000 bhp is enough to make any manufacturer redouble their efforts to get there, too.