F1's organizers, including FIA president Max Mosley and BMW's Burkhard Goeschel, are working on dropping old stereotypes of gas guzzling and money-wasting in favour of an image that’s lean, efficient and green. The two told reporters at a meeting in Munich that there’s been a major breakthrough in negotiations over what form the sport may take.

Reuters reports that the changes will place saving money, energy and resources and reducing waste as the number one priority. Currently, more than $1 billion per year is spent on engines that consume vast amounts of fuel and waste tremendous energy through heat loss. According to Mosley, there has been a huge movement of public opinion towards cleaner technologies and if F1 doesn’t catch on then “eventually it would die because it would become less and less relevant."

The FIA wants to see fuel-efficient engines by as early as 2011 following the introduction of a regenerative braking system in 2009. By 2010, the body hopes to have drawn up the final regulations for the planned use of smaller turbo engines and the use of bio-fuels. Teams should be able to compete on budgets of around $150 million with less than 200 staff.