Survival race

Formula One motor racing boils with an intoxicating mix of speed, noise, glamour, money and truly fabulous engineering. Proof enough is its massive world television audience and the season’s expansion from its traditional European fixtures to new events in Malaysia, China and Bahrain.

However, paradoxically, for many fans the sport has a stronger reputation for excitement in off-track politics and intrigue than it does in racing. Words such as “procession” and “Scalextric” are all too often used to describe the action, with races seemingly decided by qualifying and team tactics rather than wheel-to-wheel racing.

One of the most persistent criticisms of F1 is that there is so little passing. Whether that is down to the layout of modern circuits, sophisticated aerodynamics or the stifling effect of the huge budget gap between the leading teams and the also-rans, it’s fair to say that many fans would welcome more cut-and-thrust on the track — and they may get plenty come 2009.

The FIA, motorsport’s governing body, has laid down new technical regulations that will turn F1 into a technology laboratory for hybrid vehicles.

The rules will move F1 from today’s highly-optimised cars powered by 2.4-litre V8s to cars with that same power plant supplemented by an energy recovery system capable of boosting horsepower by about 10 per cent in short ‘push-to-pass’ bursts. With a short development timeframe before the 2009 season, it is anyone’s guess who will be winning races - and in what sort of machine.