Geneva showdown goes better than expected

At a meeting in Geneva this week, the FIA and representatives of F1 teams (aka FOTA) agreed to cut costs for smaller teams from next season. FIA prez Max Mosley and Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said the agreement would produce “significant cost savings for 2009 and 2010″.

Officials from three anonymous F1 teams said that the cost of engines supplied to independent teams will be capped at $13.2m a year. Bargain.

Other key agreements:

• Engine life will be increased from two to three races from 2009

• Manufacturers must be prepared to make 25 engine units available to customer teams, at a cost of €10m

Struggling German driver not short on self-confidence

Timo Glock is a very talented driver, for sure, but he’s struggled to match Toyota team-mate Jarno Trulli this season. Okay, Trulli is having the season of his life, but we’d expect Glock to be a little closer to the veteran Italian.

Glock has just five points to his name so far this year, compared with Trulli’s 20-point haul. That hasn’t stopped the 26-year-old German from stating that his ambition is to be world champion - in a Toyota - in 2010. Yep, you read that right.

British circuit hasn’t even applied for planning permission

The 2010 British GP at Donington is less than two years away, but the North West Leicestershire district council is yet to receive planning applications from the operators of the track. Hmm, is that the smell of petty bureaucracy in the air?

Wee Bernie Ecclestone has warned that he would not hesitate to drop the British GP from the calendar if the owners of the circuit don’t get their act together.

“We have not yet actually received the planning application although we have been talking through the project with the race promoters during the phase prior to last week’s official announcement,” council spokesman Ian Hill told The Guardian.