Honda has gone. Rumour has it Toyota and even Renault are pondering cheaper hobbies and leading the '09 charge is a privateer (albeit a manufacture-funded one at present).
Then there is the budget cap factor–eyes down, because this is quite a big story.
It slipped under the radar a bit while the media was distracted by the new points system, but a £30m voluntary budget cap has been put in place from the 2010 season.
Teams can go over this spend if they wish, but will be subject to stricter technical restrictions than those who don't, and Max Mosley has stated that these restrictions will be decided on a rolling basis.
So in theory, a wealthy manufacturer team could plough millions into new kit only for the FIA to turn around and tell them they can't run it because it gives them too much of an advantage.
Not a particularly attractive prospect. The alternative for manufacturers is that they stay within the budget cap, but that in turn makes it more likely for a prestige manufacturer like Ferrari or BMW to get beaten by a small private team.
You can almost hear the PR men groaning…
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