Formula One / Ralph Ellis / 01 May 2009 /

Max Mosley's proposed £40m spending cap would be welcomed by all but the marquee names - who is right?

Formula One is at a crossroads. Not literally, of course. That really would be a step too far in trying to add a bit more excitement to the sport. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say it's going through a chicane caused by the global financial crisis and working out how to squeeze its way to the other side.

While Jenson Button and his Brawn F1 cars have given the game a massive turbo charge by breaking up the monopoly enjoyed by the power houses of Ferrari and McLaren, it won't last. Just as in football everything is dominated by those with the biggest budgets, so in motor sport the big spenders will come back again. Ferrari won't be a contender for this year's Constructors' Championship - they are already as long as [15.0] - but there's nothing more certain than that they'll be throwing cash at creating a faster car for next season.

And that's where the latest moves to shake up the sport have thrown FIA president Max Mosley directly into conflict with the Italian racing giants. After weeks of talks, Mosley is proposing a £40million spending cap0 on teams for next season. That's an astonishing reduction on the budgets of up to £300million that get spent currently and has caused a big rift.

Most of teams are in favour. They believe it will give them a chance to turn a profit on their work instead of merely pouring money into a black hole. And the proposals have even begun to entice new players. Aston Martin, who returned to Le Mans this year, are talking about bringing their famous racing marque back into the F1 game (thankfully the rules still won't allow ejector seats, machine guns built into the bumpers, or that clever bullet proof shield that used to pop up on my old Corgi model to protect James Bond!)

This morning's Daily Mail reveals an angry exchange of e-mails over the proposals between Mosley and Ferrarri's president Luca di Montezemolo. But the FIA president is determined to push the new measures through (Editor's note: I took out that phrase about a three-line whip).

Mosley tells all this morning's papers: "We cannot just sit hoping that nothing bad will happen. We have already lost one manufacturer and we may lose another at any moment. If we are to reduce the risk of the Formula One world collapsing we must let other teams in."

It's a tough argument. The whole point of elite sport is to strive to be faster, bigger and better with no artificial boundaries set. But the new rules would reward imagination and invention - just as the changing regulations this year have done. Brawn's double diffusers owed nothing to bigger budgets, but everything to brighter minds.

This year the other teams are rapidly catching up, and as the circuit moves back to Europe don't expect Button to have a procession to the title. It could well be the time to lay him at [2.92], while word is that McLaren have their own advancements ready that could yet bring Lewis Hamilton back into the picture. He's currently [7.8] for the title.

Five things you might not know about Aston Martin...

1. The company started in 1913 and its name was derived from one of it's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hill climb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire

2. They produced their first car in 1915 - but couldn't make any more until after the First World War. Despite early success with record breaking racing cars they went bust in 1925

3. Only 700 cars were made before 1939, when production was stopped and the factory made aircraft parts to help the Second World War effort

4. Sir David Brown bought the company after the war - his initials are behind the famous "DB" marques which was the iconic car used by James Bond

5. Ford bought the company in 1987 after their European vice-president Walter Hayes was charmed by Prince Michael of Kent's enthusiasm for the historic cars at a party. They sold it 20 years later to a private consortium who will launch a new Lagonda car this year.

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