Drivers face new challenges in 2009

Formula One drivers face new challenges in 2009 following the shakeup of the sport sparked by the economic crisis and Honda's shock withdrawal.

"It's quite sad, it's bad for Formula One," said Felipe Massa of the Japanese company's decision to quit the sport. "It's always nice to... win against important teams like Honda, like Toyota, like Mercedes, like BMW," the Brazilian, who finished second in last season's drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, said.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso said the pullout "was a surprise for me and most of the people in the paddock because Honda has been in Formula One for a long time and is one of the biggest teams as well.

"I think it was not an easy decision for them to make and hopefully no more teams will follow their decision," added the Spaniard.

Honda announced last week it was pulling out of Formula One, ending an involvement in the sport which dates back to the 1960s and raising fresh fears over the future of the multi-million dollar sport struggling to keep afloat in the current economic downturn. The decision sent shockwaves through Formula One, which had already seen fellow Japanese team, Super Aguri go the wall earlier this year. At a meeting in Monaco late Wednesday, Formula One teams and world motorsports governing body, the FIA, reached agreement to radically reduce costs in response to the global economic crisis. Details of the deal are to be announced on Friday.

FIA chief Max Mosley called for Formula One engineers to innovate or else risk seeing the business decay.

"Success in Formula One today consists of optimising each little bit of the chassis, which is ever more costly and completely absurd," Mosley said in addressing the opening day of the Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco.

He also warned that more teams could follow Honda, whose annual F1 budget was believed to be in the region of 400 million dollars.

"We have to face facts that Honda pulled out because of falling car sales and there is absolutely no guarantee that the fall won't go further. If they do, we have to reckon on other manufacturers pulling out of not only F1, but other forms of motor sport, and we have to plan for that." 

At pre-season testing in Jerez de la Frontera, southern Spain, drivers sought to focus on their performance on the track, especially with the new slick tyres that will return to the sport in 2009 after 10 seasons. The slicks, as well as new aerodynamic alterations, are aimed at making overtaking easier and thus more competitive -- and hopefully exciting for spectators, but financial concerns remained ever present.

"There are plenty of solutions to reduce the budget of teams without reaching the point of leaving Formula One," said Alonso.

Said Massa: "I think next year, it will just be Honda leaving, and after that the situation will get better." 

Former world champion Kimi Räikkönen of Finland was more tight-lipped. "I know as much as anybody, we'll see what happens," he said.

Swiss rookie Sébastien Buemi, who recorded the fastest times for Toro Rosso in testing on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Honda's pullout "was quite a shock."

Ferrari's former technical director Ross Brawn "came to Honda and they had a programme to make the team better, and then to stop like that in the middle of the programme is a bit strange," he said. "Hopefully someone will buy it and the guys will be there" at the opening Grand Prix of the 2009 season in Melbourne.