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Formula 1's bosses have presented their proposal for the future of the sport after 2020.
Liberty Media, the sport's commercial rights holders, made the presentation ahead of the Bahrain GP to the ten F1 teams currently on the grid.
The proposal covers the sport's next era after the current Concorde Agreement - which binds the sport together - expires at the end of 2020.
Liberty have confirmed their intention to introduce a cost cap and 'cheaper and simpler' power units.
A new 'revenue distribution criteria' has also been proposed, 'based on meritocracy of the current performance and reward success for the teams and the Commercial Rights Holder.'
Additionally, Liberty have promised to maintain differentiation between cars, but 'believe areas not relevant to fans need to be standardised'.
Attempts to improve overtaking and the spectacle will also be made.
F1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn talks to Martin Brundle about the sport's future in a Sky F1 exclusive. Watch the full interview in the Bahrain GP qualifying show. F1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn talks to Martin Brundle about the sport's future in a Sky F1 exclusive. Watch the full interview in the Bahrain GP qualifying show.
Brawn explains Liberty's vision
F1 managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn has explained the group's vision of the sport's future in an exclusive interview with Sky F1 which will be played in full during coverage of qualifying from 3pm on Saturday.
"We've put our ideas to the team and asked them to consider them carefully," said Brawn. "It's fair to say the revenue model was new, our views on the cost cap were finally on the table.
"I'm not going to comment on the [cost cap] number because that's something we still want to discuss with the teams. What we are proposing, the purpose is to improve the sport. The purpose is to make the business more sustainable, bring the cars closer together but at a level that is still incredibly exciting.
"We think there is a need to readdress our references on what is correct to spend in Formula 1 and what isn't. Out of that, I think we will have closer competition, teams with better business models and we'll have a better sport."
How the teams have responded
Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff described the proposal as "a good starting point" but Ferrari are yet to formally respond to the presentation.
McLaren boss Zak Brown said "the impression is very positive and the direction in which they are taking is the right direction" while Red Bull's Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1: "The purpose of today was outlining the blue sky thinking Liberty have. The positive thing is they are really focused on the fans and creating a better show and a more affordable Formula 1."
Williams chief Claire Williams told reporters she considered "cracking open champagne" after the meeting.
"It's inevitable that when you are talking about a cost cap at the level we are talking about that the bigger teams are going to be hurt most," said Williams. "But I don't feel too sorry for them - they have had 10 or 20 years of having a wonderful ride in Formula 1 and winning everything, we haven't. We've been fighting and we've been fighting for survival."
Formula 1's proposals at a glance
Key strategic initiatives
Power units (PU)
• The PU must be cheaper, simpler, louder, have more power and reduce the necessity of grid penalties.
• It must remain road relevant, hybrid and allow manufacturers to build unique and original PU.
• New PU rules must be attractive for new entrants and Customer teams must have access to equivalent performance.
Costs
• We believe how you spend the money must be more decisive and important than how much money you spend.
• While there will be some standardised elements, car differentiation must remain a core value
• Implement a cost cap that maintains Formula 1 position as the pinnacle of motorsport with a state-of-the-art technology.
Revenues
• The new revenue distribution criteria must be more balanced, based on meritocracy of the current performance and reward success for the teams and the Commercial Rights Holder.
• F1's unique, historical franchise and value must and will still be recognised.
• Revenue support to both cars and engine suppliers.
Sporting and technical rules & regulations
• We must make cars more raceable to increase overtaking opportunities.
• Engineering technology must remain a cornerstone but driver's skill must be the predominant factor in the performance of the car.
• The cars must and will remain different from each other and maintain performance differentiators like aerodynamics, suspensions and PU performance. However, we believe areas not relevant to fans need to be standardised.
Governance
• A simple and streamline structure between the teams, the FIA and Formula 1.
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F1 chief Ross Brawn talks to Martin Brundle about the sport's future plans in a Sky F1 exclusive. Watch the full interview in the Bahrain GP qualifying show from 3pm F1 chief Ross Brawn talks to Martin Brundle about the sport's future plans in a Sky F1 exclusive. Watch the full interview in the Bahrain GP qualifying show from 3pm
How Formula 1 is reacting to the proposals put forward for the sport's next era after 2020...
Formula 1 bosses reveal their vision for F1's future
The F1 team bosses
Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff: "This is a good starting point for us because now at least you can properly assess it, what do we like, what do we not like, what's feasible and what's not. It's a starting point.
"But if you look into the detail, I think we need to work with Liberty and find a compromise... As a consequence we need to assess how we achieve compromise, that would be our main priority because it's a great platform and we don't want to go out and say 'well then we do something else', it's not the right moment."
Red Bull's Christian Horner: "The purpose of today was outlining the blue sky thinking Liberty have. The positive thing is they are really focused on the fans and creating a better show and a more affordable Formula 1. But the devil is always in the detail."
McLaren's Zak Brown: "Overall the impression is very positive and the direction in which they are taking is the right direction.... We all recognise the sport starts with the fan and that is what Liberty is focused on. If the fan wins then I think we all win I think we all recognise that the sport is not where it needs to be today so it's in our collective interest to improve the show.
"That means we are all going to have to make varying degrees of compromises but I think we will ultimately get there at the end. We're excited about the future of Formula 1."
Williams' Claire Williams: "I came back thinking 'let's crack open some champagne' because, from our perspective, if we can get these regulations through and FOM do everything they have presented this morning I know that Williams' future is safe.
"It's inevitable that when you are talking about a cost cap at the level we are talking about that the bigger teams are going to be hurt most. But I don't feel too sorry for them - they have had 10 or 20 years of having a wonderful ride in Formula 1 and winning everything, we haven't. We've been fighting for survival."
Haas' Guenther Steiner: "We are looking all positive after our meeting. I think it was good today, the presentation went well.
"Everybody goes away and comes back with questions but I think the point is we need to change something to attract people, to attract new fans, to do what we need to do to make the sport the leading sport in the world."
The potential new entrants
Aston Martin chief executive officer Andy Palmer: "We are extremely pleased to hear today's news regarding the future of Formula One. These prospective changes support many of the requirements needed for Aston Martin to enter the sport as an engine supplier. This is a very positive step in the right direction."
The pundits
Sky F1's Martin Brundle: "I was expecting more from the press release but in the meeting it was probably a little bit firmer in terms of a $150m cost cap - we don't know if that will be a static number or when it will first come in or whether there is a ramp down.
"I think Ferrari get an extra $40m because they're Ferrari, and each engine manufacturer an extra $10m because they have to develop the engines."
Sky F1's Damon Hill: "Bit of an abstract wish list but I like the part about making the driver a greater component in the performance equation. Absolutely crucial for the sporting appeal of F1."
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Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest time in the first Formula 1 practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix as Red Bull had the edge on a tight Mercedes/Ferrari battle.
Ricciardo leapt to the top of the leaderboard late in the opening 90-minute session at the Sakhir circuit to go three tenths clear of Valtteri Bottas.
Kimi Raikkonen lapped within a tenth of the lead Mercedes, with Sebastian Vettel just 0.012s further back in the daylight session.
As qualifying and the race will be held after sunset, teams were happy to wait to get proper running under way.
After initial benchmarks from the Force India drivers and Ricciardo's Red Bull, Mercedes developed a monopoly on the lead position for much of the session.
Hamilton and Bottas took turns in front with Hamilton's 1m32.532s the benchmark at the session's mid-point.
When running resumed after a short break, during which track temperature fell from 42C to 39C, Hamilton made a mistake on his next soft-tyre run.
Though he improved on his second flying lap Hamilton wound up 0.9s behind Bottas, who made the best of his new tyres and hammered in a 1m31.364s.
The two Ferrari drivers jumped into the chasm of lap time between the Mercedes drivers with 20 minutes remaining.
Red Bull's session was threatening to turn out miserably as Max Verstappen suffered a loss of power early on and Ricciardo stayed in the garage after his early foray on medium tyres.
Verstappen - who had to push his car back to the pits - did not emerge again, ending the session with just two laps completed and no time set as Red Bull changed his engine manifold assembly.
However, Ricciardo headed out in the final 20 minutes on soft tyres and made an immediate impact with a 1m31.060s, 0.304s quicker than Bottas.
Haas again emerged best of the rest behind the big three teams, with Romain Grosjean 1.4s off the pace in sixth and team-mate Kevin Magnussen also in the top 10 in ninth as both used supersoft tyres.
Pierre Gasly complained of traction problems early in the session but recovered to set the seventh-fastest time, 1.7s off the pace, with soft tyres on his Toro Rosso.
The Red Bull junior team has been given upgraded engine parts by Honda for this race after turbo and MGU-H problems were identified in Australia and was confident its car would suit the low-speed parts of Bahrain well.
Gasly outpaced several cars on supersofts, including the Renaults of Carlos Sainz Jr and Nico Hulkenberg (eighth and 10th) and both McLarens.
Charles Leclerc was another star performer on softs. Despite spinning early in the session the Sauber driver slotted into 12th, between the supersoft-shod McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne as they evaluated the upgrades that were originally planned for the opening race in Australia.
FP1 times
Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps 1 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1m31.060s - 14 2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m31.364s 0.304s 24 3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m31.458s 0.398s 18 4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m31.470s 0.410s 17 5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m32.272s 1.212s 21 6 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1m32.516s 1.456s 23 7 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso/Honda 1m32.779s 1.719s 26 8 Carlos Sainz Renault 1m32.885s 1.825s 21 9 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1m32.971s 1.911s 19 10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m33.104s 2.044s 18 11 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Renault 1m33.223s 2.163s 24 12 Charles Leclerc Sauber/Ferrari 1m33.278s 2.218s 20 13 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren/Renault 1m33.364s 2.304s 25 14 Lance Stroll Williams/Mercedes 1m33.379s 2.319s 22 15 Sergey Sirotkin Williams/Mercedes 1m33.467s 2.407s 29 16 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso/Honda 1m33.497s 2.437s 27 17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1m33.508s 2.448s 22 18 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 1m33.662s 2.602s 26 19 Esteban Ocon Force India/Mercedes 1m33.794s 2.734s 23 20 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Renault - - 2
