The FIA has now published a Q&A document on the cost capping decisions made by the WMSC and it can be found here. It makes for an interesting read but contains no real surprises; I had my say on the matter yesterday so will not go into it in detail for the moment.
Cosworth V8 engine
What does strike me, however, is this statement in the preamble:
Two main philosophies have emerged, either i) reduce activity levels through very restrictive technical rules, plus a degree of standardization if required; or ii) restrict the money that teams are allowed to spend (cost capping).
This seems to indicate that Max has abandoned his plans for standardizing everything in sight. Apparently, it is now regarded as an option that falls away if the budget cap is put into effect. We can all breathe a sigh of relief at that but I find it amusing that the most tangible remnant of the drive towards standardization is the Cosworth engine.
It was the result of Mosley's putting out to tender the task of supplying a standard engine in the future. Cosworth won the contract but it seemed a bit of a pointless exercise at the time, there being no obvious takers for such an engine. Since then, the landscape has changed with the possibility of several new teams entering the sport, all of whom have indicated a preference for the Cosworth as their power plant.
Cosworth were always the most likely winners, already having a suitable engine that had distinguished itself by being the first to achieve 20,000 rpm in F1. With the restraints on engine development imposed since Cosworth's departure from the sport, the engine remains a viable alternative to supply by an existing manufacturer team.
And so, in a convoluted fashion, the stage has been set for the most successful engine supplier of all time to make a return to its natural environment, F1. If the budget cap achieves nothing else, this at least can be counted as an unintended success. And what an irony it is, that we should have Max to thank for it...