Countdown to F1 2009: Special Honda Edition

Welcome to this week's issue of Countdown to F1 2009. This week I have decided to base the issue around the main news in Formula One at the moment: Honda's pullout.

There is no Testing, Driver or Team news this week and no quiz either, the issue focuses around Honda and I attempt to answer some important questions. Hope you enjoy it!

What does Honda's pullout mean for the sport?

Well, some obvious consequences of Honda's pullout means that there will only be 18 cars lining up on the grid next season compared to the 22 that competed in Australia in 2008.

Many have said that the pullout has been a major wake up-call for the sport, and many have hinted that more teams could follow in the footsteps of Honda; teams like Toyota and Renault.

The most important thing that the sport must learn from Honda's exit is that we must cut costs in Formula One in order for the sport to survive, which leads me to my next question...

With the auto-industry suffering, what changes need to be made for Formula One to be successful?

Many of you may have read my previous article on this topic. However, I will mention my thoughts again.

With new car sales down a massive 23 percent from the amount of car sales in October 2007, road car manufacturers need to be aware of their budget, but if sales remain low and no changes are made then we could see them pulling out of F1 as well.

That's why I have argued that standardised engines and gearboxes need to be introduced immediately, to save the teams a whole lot of money. New engines will also show which driver is the most skillful.

Also, there should be new rules on the amount of tyres that are used; it costs the teams £3000 for four Bridgestone Tyres. If there is a limit on the amount of laps a driver is allowed to do in Friday practice and also a limit on the amount of testing each team can do, teams will save themselves a whole load of money.

Michael Griffin has put an interesting point across. He is proposing that driver salaries are cut to £5 million each to save a whopping £100 million a year. I think this is a great proposal and if drivers complain about this I will get really angry because Hamilton, Kubica, and Vettel would have given a 100 percent "yes" if they were offered £5 million a year in 2005.

Does the sport need to reinvent itself, or just make some minor changes?

In a sentence; No, it doesn't need to reinvent itself.

With major changes planned for the sport already (we have already seen what 2009 cars could look like) F1 only needs to make some minor changes to make a major difference.

For example, how about banning re-fuelling pit stops to save money on fuel. This would allow each driver to be on the same fuel load at the start of the race and no races would be won in the pit lane... would we see more overtaking?

As mentioned before, standardised engines will allow all teams to save money, meaning they can afford to compete.

We don't need to change every single aspect of Formula One; we just need to make enough changes to make sure vulnerable teams like Renault, Toyota, and Williams can continue participating.

Is the talk of F1 dying just the automakers and media exaggerating, or is there actually cause for concern?

There is definitely cause for concern if changes aren't made, the media aren't exaggerating this time.

Honda spent over £300 million a year to send two cars round in circles and they hardly got any reward. They had a large drop in sales and simply couldn't carry on.

The scary thing is that Honda had one of the biggest budgets in 2008, so if Williams have a budget less than that and things stay as they are, the legendary team will have to bow out.

However, this pullout has been a major wake-up call and the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) are planning to cut costs AT LEAST by 50 percent.

So, I wouldn't worry about the future of Formula One itself, the FIA and FOTA are working in unison to bring changes to the sport. However, the future of certain teams is still in doubt.

Thanks for reading.