FIA applying rules rigorously

Max Mosley said the FIA had used a 'zero-tolerance' approach to the way teams were dithering over what changes to make to Formula One as the governing body was fed up of waiting. Mosley thinks changes could have been made last season but had hoped for some kind of decisions from the teams without intervention. However, when that was not forthcoming, the FIA's patience ran out.

"We could have probably been more insistent (last season) so now we decided we would impose the regulations to the letter," said Mosley. "We got fed up with trying to reach agreement and what we are doing is applying the rules very rigorously, a sort of zero-tolerance approach, to stop them doing the things that we want to stop them doing."

While the changes laid out yesterday -- including banning of two-way telemetry, radio communication and spare cars to come into force for this season -- shocked some of those present at the meeting, Mosley said on the whole there was no real dissent from team bosses to the new regulations.

"Once they got over the shock it all went down quite well," he remarked. In future bosses will be consulted about any changes but for the moment it was a case of the FIA laying down the law. "There will be things for the future like increasing the number of races per engine," Mosley added. "But everything today we said to them 'Right, this is what we are going to do'. There were some dissenting voices but the great majority were in favour or, at worst, neutral."