Will Ferrari, Renault, Toyota,BMW, Honda really be happy with the concept of engines which differ only in the name stamped on the block?

Alan Hargreaves, Holywell, UK

F1 is all about the creative genius. Standardisation reduces creativity and the innovations that ultimately find themselves in road cars. Restricting engine spend is likely to divert cash to chasis and aero spend instead. Fix the budget, use pump unleaded and set CO2 limits - unleash the engineers!

David armstrong, Brundall, UK

How about reducing the obscene pricesto see a live Grand Prix first !

James Cole, London, UK

Perhaps, if Ecclestone took a little less money out of Formula 1, the sport could retain its position at the pinniclemotorsport, rather than following NASCAR down the road to commeria;;y-sucessful mediocraty.

smithal, Guelph, Canada

No way ths undermines the whole concept of Formula One which is for each team to build and develop their own machine.

This woud change the concept and ruin it for me.

iain, whangarei, new zealand

And the next step will be change the engine for pedals, is more economic

Joan, Barcelona, Spn

Socialism strikes again. One has to love that no one mentions how MONETARY inflation by the world's central bankers is the real culprit behind PRICE inflation.

Static number of goods/services + expanding $$$ supply = more worthless $$$ chasing after the same things.

It's going to get worse folks.

Gregory Thornhill, Manhattan KS, USA

Terrible idea. I am all for cutting costs but I watch F1 not Chump cars which had this rule. I want a Ferrari to have a Ferrari engine, a Merc to have Merc engine and encourage them to innovate. This will see many of the manufacturers depart and with them viewers.

Reece, Melb, Aust

BORING!!! Next sport please.

Adrian, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Sounds like US "champ car racing" Every body uses a Honda engine(this year) before it was Cosworth Ford/Chevy. While Bernie is at it declare a standard chasis/aero package also and really kill of F1. Then NASCAR can move to EU. A better idea would be to allow only production engines less than 3L.

R.D. McDowell, Pungoteague VA, USA

A century ago, motor racing pushed the development of IC (petrol) engines forward at a tremendous rate. Perhaps it's timely to now switch F1 from using IC to electric engines. It would ensure that the development of batteries &/or fuel-cells would rapidly become a real alternative to hydrocarbons.

Ron Durham, Auckland, NZ

Rotate the drivers! would love to see button in a ferrari or kimi in a honda or sutil in a mclaren etc, etc..

Paul, chichester ,

Same engine = "spec" series. Spec series = boring. I have better things to do than waste time on spec racing. I am serious when I say that I will drop F1 entirely if this proposal becomes reality.

Philip Rodgers, Myersville, MD, USA

Boring ! Give the teams a budget cap and let the engineers use their imagination. Sadly it is unlikely to happen so the FIA and Ecclestone will kill their golden goose. I am reaching for the off switch on my TV ...

Nick, Auckland, NZ

Drop F1 all together and save everyone the expense, besides you could bail out Iceland in a weekend. The races are a bore unless Ferrari do one of their comedy acts.

Peter, Houston, USA

Remember the DFV? Racing was great back then and no Bernie to bother with.

Peter, Houston, USA

Why not build a really good computer program that lets engineers use all their ingenuity to beat each other by designing virtual cars and the drivers can all sit in simulators for the race. No pollution, low cost ,just as much entertainment for the armchair fans and still testing engineer and driver

Clive Stringer, Devon, England

How long before Bernie insists on one engine supplier ? and
I cannot see BMW,Mercedes and other manufacturers pouring their budgets into developing(Ferrari )someone else's engine.The days of an all Ferrari grid are approaching!
Why bother with formula Ecclestone, motoGP is much more entertaining.

Nigel Ashurst, Shepshed, England

I say that this isn't such a bad thing for the viewer of these races. the cars will be more evenly matched to the drivers will have to try extra hard to make their way through the positions. should make the racing a bit more exciting.

however for motoring technology, it isn't such a great thing.

will arnold, bangor, wales

Is Bernie selling out to A1?

William Lack, London,

"A good idea I think. If it`s a sport, then it`s got to be about the individual participants surely." - Ozzy, Oldham, UK

Wrong. F1 is a team sport, each consists of a few hundred people, the majority of whom are designers, engineers and mechanics. It is not a sport of "individual participants".

Alastair Johnson, Alicante, Spain

A cost cap would be a better way of levelling the playing field whilst ensuring that innovation continues. Motor sport is a very important industry to the UK and I hope Ecclestone bears this in mind when drawing up his plans.

Nick, London, UK

Daft idea - and how boring

Just put a cap on total spend...this leaves each team to innovate in whichever way they want to

Phil, Preston,

how is any of this Ferrari's fault?

mike, leeds,

The change proposed would guarantee the income of BE and his followers into the future.Why not replace F1 by double-decker bus racing! I would not bother watching that either

Colin Williams, MARSEILLAN, France

In the 60s and 70s when most cars were powered by Cosworth the crowds would flock to hear the Ferrari and (especially) Matra engines because they were so DIFFERENT. We've done Formula Ford, we've got GP - F1 should be all about the pursuit of excellence in all areas.

Paul, London,

Looks like Bernie is taking advice from NASCAR. Isn't that the way they do it. Soon they will all be driving the same car with different labels.

Kathryn, Thunder Bay, Canada

If they are going to do this they might as well go the whole hog and get rid of the cards entirely & have the F1 drivers compete on a Playstation!

It would save a whole bagful of money and it makes about as much sense as this asanine idea ......

Ian, Cambridge, UK

They ought to make the manufacturers use Infinitley Variable Transmissions/CVT gearboxes too in order to improve both the car's performance and fuel consumption

Neil, Kuala Lumpur,

I've always thought the great challenge in F1 would be to make it even duller. So well done Bernie Ecclestone, that is just what you have done.

S White, Birmingham, UK

I agree with Peter Flinkenberg, put a cap on team spending, that way the real innovation comes by creating new technology and cheaper methods for manufacture and design.

Michiel de Graaff, Southampton, UK

If they all have the same engine, where is the power difference to allow overtaking?
Why not scrap the driving and just have a pit-stop competition as that's where the races are one or lost.

Danny, Ashford, Kent

F1 has become more and more of a Joke since the FIA banned group B cars in Rallying. This is just the final punchline before the curtain falls. Good ridance to overhyped motor racing

marcus, horndon on the hill, uk

The last 25 years of Formula 1 have been ruined by geeks more interested in telemetry read-outs than racing. They have been brainwashed by the likes of Ferrari, who tell them how exciting it is to see a race be decided on pit-stop strategies and technologies bearing their logo. Good riddance!

bill, Madrid,

F1 is supposed to be about technical innovation and engineering excellence as well as driver skill. Why would manufacturers want to be involved otherwise? if Ecclestone is so worried why doesn't he donate some of his millions to the smaller teams? Tell him to get lost and set up a rival formula.

Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK

Rather than hamstringing development and technical achievement by introducing the same engines for the cars, how a limit on the seasonal budget -say 10-20m GBP.

That way teams are still competing from an equal basis but engineering excellence, innovation AND driving skill are rewarded.

Peter Flinkenberg, Hamburg, Germany

Formula 1 is a showcase for manufacturers who present their technology & brand to the car buying public.

Who will provide the sponsorship for a new look F1. Will the engine maker be bankrupted as in GP Masters.

Goodbye F1 - Commercial case destroyed

Richard, Bucharest,

So that'll be a standard engine for everyone except a team beginning with F who will probably have a dispensation to modify it. Some teams are more equal than others.....

Andrew Porter, Cottam, UK

So what is the point of Honda, Mercedes, BMW etc being involved in F1 is taking the best engineers from university, placing them in the high pressured environment of F1 for two or three years and then releasing them into their road car programmes, we all benefit in the end!

matthew, solihull, UK

Like most people here, I also feel that F1 should be the pinnacle of motorsport and technological innovation. It's supposed to be a test of man and machine.
But the lack of competition in F1 isnt a good thing either. It's just 3-4 teams there now. Money seems to be a reason.

Sounds like catch22

Varun, India,

This is nothing new. Back in the 1960 - 1980, a large proportion of the grid were powered by Cosworth engines. It could be more of a level playing field.....finally!

Vimal Dhokia, Bath, United Kingdom

That'll be good news for Hamilton then as the best pound for pound racer on the grid - better hope Schu makes a return to gives us some racing.

Robert, Olney, UK

Cosworth EFV anyone??
Gerry, Australia

Gerry, North Rocks, Australia

A good idea I think. If it`s a sport, then it`s got to be about the individual participants surely. Imagine Man Utd playing with it`s own design of ball created through the spending of millions of pounds of sponsor`s or owner`s money.

Ozzy, Oldham, UK

This is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor sport – not some Formula Ford economy race. There should only be one rule in F1 – the car has to fit in a defined steel box with no dimension alterable when running. Now, that would produce some very interesting cars – and really give the enterprising and imaginative engineer a chance to produce something radical.

Tony Griffiths, Buxton, UK

I'm not a big fan of F1 (and particularly not of Ecclestone & Mosley) but am I not right in thinking that one of the main reasons motor companies engage in the sport is to push the limits of technical innovation through this improving performance, safety and fuel economy of their everyday product.

Sonny B, Newcastle , UK

This all depends on the type of engine that they intend to introduce. If it produces 900-1000bhp then great, we'll still have the greatest racing cars on the planet with less downforce, providing a great test of skill. If they peg them to the current 750bhp, that's a worry...

Rupert, Braintree, UK

A formula which may be worth considering is for teams to be given the same amount of fuel per race then for each individual team to design an engine to maximize the fuel consumption/speed formula.Thus there would be different solutions to the formula creating interest and a link to manufacturing.

Mark Edwards, Hartford, Cheshire

It'll be 'Formula Ferrari' before we know it.

Arthur, Newcastle,

If all engines are to be built to the same spec, where does that leave creativity, ingenuity and the desire to excel? It might be more competitive for the drivers - but not for the more brilliant engineering minds.

Melissa, London,

The last remaining glimer of light in the UK motor industry is it's formula1 led motorsport engineering.
That glimmer just got snuffed out.

RIP
UK automotive engineering
1900 - 2008
Ecclestoned to death

Pat, Coromandel, NZ

Why would manufacturers bother? No brand-specific kudos from making clones, no incentive to innovate, no team loyalty for spectators. The current teams could cut their costs massively by cutting loose from FAI, Bernie & Max and running their own show, in which Ferrari would have no special favours.

Faustino, Brisbane, Australia

Without F1, it seems unlikely that flywheel energy recovery systems would have been developed (due to be introduced next year), which are over twice as efficient and cheaper than current hybrid technology.

This is being investigated for road cars, so one up there for fuel saving from motor sport.

George Ball, Diss,

As all the engine manufacturers, except the German ones and Honda, supply customer engines to other teams, this won't save a lot of cost.

If the FIA allowed the teams to provide customer chassis, that would attract more teams and the cost of car development would be offset too.

Darryl, Naperville, IL, USA

This is a joke! F1 has always been about competition of constructors as much as the actual racing teams, which allowed it to remain a technological leader in all of world sports. Engine freeze and single tire supplier have already undermined the competitive aspect, and now this ridiculous proposal!

Fiona, Seattle, USA

I see the future 'John Deere' F1 Racing.

Why would car manufactures even bother.

g gilmour, aberdee, uk

F1 has simply got too technical, and safe. In the pre 1970 period, especially pre 1960 or so, these cars were driven by gallant, skilled courageous heroes of the track. They were a breed apart. The daring required to win was was beyond what we witness today in the humdrum technical F1 of today

Tony L, Jakarta,

Cost cutting is great. I would love to see Williams and the small teams of yesterday able to compete at the top level again, but not at the cost of reducing the series to pablum.

john, Los Angeles, usa

so whats the difference between that and gp2? in 5 years whats to stop them saying why dont we all have the same aerodynamics too, it would save money after all.

surely it would better for the FIA to stop bringing in rules, and let the smaller develop things like ground effect and compete thatway

will, grimsby, uk

NO! NO ! NO!

F1 is the pinacle of technological innovation in Motorsport, the driver is not the most important part of the equation and only half the reason for the massive appeal of F1...

Personally I don't think the drivers championship is half as important as the constructors championship...

Sean Baylis, Hong Kong, HK

The whole point of F1 is that teams build their own cars, engine included.

If they have to use the same engine, then the "peak of motorsport" will be no different to the IRL or A1GP or even GP2, just another spec series.

So long F1, we had some great years together.. I'll miss you.

Steve, Haverhill, UK

The most polluting activity on earth?

Peter, Seoul, Korea

Oh dear! And what motivation will this ruling give to Mercedes, Toyota, Honda Ferrari etc? Just another CART series. A lot of fans are in love with the technology and the Brand diversity.

Ian Beaumont, Bribie Island, Australia

F1 is the technological pinnacle of the motor industry. Isnt it time F1 played a leading role in the goal to reduce fuel consumption even develop alternative power sources ?

David , Singapore,

How arrogant these two men are, they decide and we pay ! Never before have I seen such a suicidal move by two old men who think they are in touch with what the F1 public want. This is Communism in F1, all the same no one stronger than the other. I will not watch this weak rubbish

Lloyd, London,

So, Ecclestone now approves of the Perv of the FIA.

They should obviously both go.

Who is going to start the new supreme independent competition, the FA1?

Ian, Solihull, UK

You mean just like Nigel's GP Masters series. Make sure no electronic driver's aids are allowed.

Not Ferrari engines please.

Richard, Rye House,