Ferrari Leave Formula 1

It would just be a shame for Lola and the like, unless the teams are willing to come up with some kind of compromise.

No it wouldn't because USF1 (USGPE) bosses said they planned to join F1 long before the budget cap initiative and will do so even without the cap. Lola jumped on the ship at the last minute (just like other 4 applicants) probably to sell the spot later to an existing team, that would've missed the app date.

A little over 90 minutes before the verdict is announced, you can judge by the "tone" of it, whether the appeal will be succesfull, because in such cases all the arguments are presented within minutes, unless something new is put on the table, the appeal will probably fail.
 
Last edited:
Ferrari loses legal bid against FIA

Ferrari has lost its legal bid to lodge an injunction against the FIA's plans for a voluntary budget cap in Formula 1.

The Maranello outfit was told by French legal authorities on Wednesday that it did not have a valid reason to block plans for a ?40 million voluntary budget cap.

The move means that next week's entry deadline for the 2010 championship will go ahead, leaving teams a few days to resolve their opposition to the regulations.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75442
 
That's a relief. Battling this out in court would not have done anyone any favours.

There's another report in Autosport which names ten potential new teams trying to enter F1 in 2010.

According to sources, the list of teams that were looking at moving to F1 were Lola, USF1, Wirth Research, Epsilon Euskadi, RML, Formtech, Campos Racing and iSport.

Another two outfits have also expressed an interest in moving up to F1. British F3 team Litespeed issued a statement declaring its intention to apply for an entry, while Prodrive has also admitted to be considering the move.

Full article

Now, how many of those should be considered serious efforts is debatable. However, if all of them submit their entries by the deadline the current teams that don't do so will have harder time getting back in should they wish to do so.
 
Out of the teams that are counted there, Epsilon Euskadi and USF1 seem the most serious, but Epsilon more than all of them. I mean, they have excellent facilities, at F1 standards, they have produced an in-house LMP1 car that wasn't at all shabby, although it wasn't that reliable (being its first year), they have funding from the Basque government...


I wouldn't mind having them in F1. But no amateurish efforts, please.
 
That's a relief. Battling this out in court would not have done anyone any favours.

There's another report in Autosport which names ten potential new teams trying to enter F1 in 2010.



Full article

Now, how many of those should be considered serious efforts is debatable. However, if all of them submit their entries by the deadline the current teams that don't do so will have harder time getting back in should they wish to do so.

Mosley says that 7 of the teams are serious entries. As ViperVX says, some of them might just want to buy the entries so they can flog them to the big teams, but even so I think at least 5 of them would be serious about running under the budget cap. Team USF1 (or USGPE or whatever they are called this week), Euskatel Euskadi, Prodrive and Lola I think are definitely committed to it.
 
Last edited:
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=37943

Ferrari mocks 2010 'entry list'

20/05/2009

Ferrari, which has declared that it will not contest the 2010 Formula One World Championship, has openly ridiculed some of the names being suggested as possible entrants, thereby replacing the legendary team, and Red Bull and Toyota, on the grid next season.

"They couldn't believe their eyes, the men at women working at Ferrari, when they read the papers this morning and found the names of the teams, declaring that they have the intention to race in Formula 1 next year," mocks the Maranello outfit.

"Looking at the list, which was leaked yesterday in Paris, you can't find a very famous name," the Italian team continues. "One of those one has to spend 400 Euros per person for a place on the grandstand at a GP (plus the expenses for the journey and the stay..). Wirth Research, Lola, USF1, Epsilon Euskadi, RML, Formtech, Campos, iSport: these are the names of the teams, which should compete in the two-tier Formula 1 wanted by Mosley.

"Can a World Championship with teams like them - with due respect - have the same value as today's Formula 1, where Ferrari, the big car manufacturers and teams, who created the history of this sport, compete? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call it Formula GP3?"

That is a question that many F1 fans may currently be asking.

Now... I'm not at all a supporter of the two-tier system, as you know, but this statement is plain childish. Especially since they mention Lola Cars, who have been in motorsports longer than teams like McLaren.
 
Lola cars may have been in motorsports longer than Mclaren, but Mclaren i obviously the famous one of the two.

I can see their point, even if they're arrogant in the way they communicate it - people will be more interested in watching Ferrari, Renault and Toyota fight it out, than they will be in watching Lola, Epsilon and USF1. The big manufacturers are more important to the sport than all of these relatively small raceteams. Max doesn't seem to care though.. :b
 
When you start to doubt FOTA, we start to doubt you.

I haven't started to doubt FOTA, I always thought of FOTA as useless and the exact opposite of the kind of organisation that should run F1. Sure, they got the victory regarding the points system, but that was down to the FIA's incompetence rather than FOTA having any real say in matters.
 
I haven't started to doubt FOTA, I always thought of FOTA as useless and the exact opposite of the kind of organisation that should run F1. Sure, they got the victory regarding the points system, but that was down to the FIA's incompetence rather than FOTA having any real say in matters.

By this analogy, you say that the teams' associations are useless. Does this make Bernie useless and minimizes his contribution to bringing F1 to a professional era after the FISA-FOCA war?
 
Now... I'm not at all a supporter of the two-tier system, as you know, but this statement is plain childish. Especially since they mention Lola Cars, who have been in motorsports longer than teams like McLaren.

I don't see anything wrong with what they said. They're right no matter how you want to look at it.
 
By this analogy, you say that the teams' associations are useless. Does this make Bernie useless and minimizes his contribution to bringing F1 to a professional era after the FISA-FOCA war?

I never said that all teams associations are useless and unwanted, just this one. Mainly because Mosley and Ecclestone have too much of a stranglehold on the sport, much more than Balestre ever had, so they are likely to be ineffective.
The reason I said they are unwanted is because there is rarely any consensus on any issues these days between the teams (the points being the exception), and a body that cannot agree internally is no god for running anything. Even on this budget-cap nonsense, FOTA isn't in any way united. Some teams are against it full stop, some are against the two-tier idea and some are for it.
Obviously FOCA was never greatly united but at least it had strong figureheads in the form of Mosely and Ecclestone. FOTA just doesn't have that.
 
FOTA has united the teams more so than was the case earlier. Mosley can no longer pick out single teams to influence like he used to - for example with the Ferrari deal they made back when the teams were talking about making a new series.

I actually kind of agree with Fernando Alonso when he says that if the sport loses all the big teams, it will just be GP2 with a bit more speed. The big manufacturers are hugely important to the sport..

And Peter3hg you say FOTA is useless because Mosley and Bernie has a stranglehold on the sport.. It is excactly this stranglehold the teams are trying to change. I bet you Mosley is going to have a hard time getting re-elected if he causes F1 to lose Ferrari, Renault, Toyota and the Red Bull teams. And You might even see Bernie turn against Mosley - Bernie is worried about his business, he is worried about TV deals, sponsor money, viewer ratings.. All of which will drop massively if the sport loses said teams. Not just because people recognize these teams to a much larger degree than USf1, Lola etc. But also because said big teams has a much larger marketing budget. F1 will simply not get the coverage that it used to.

The good of the sport is to find a solution WITHOUT losing any of the current teams. You might prefer Lola and Prodrive to Ferrari and Renault, but i promise you, you are a minority.
 
FOTA has united the teams more so than was the case earlier. Mosley can no longer pick out single teams to influence like he used to - for example with the Ferrari deal they made back when the teams were talking about making a new series.

They might be less influence from the FIA, but that does not mean the teams are in any way united, just look at the differing opinions on the budget cap. McMerc is a team which the FIA now have massive influence over. By letting them off "easy" over liergate, McMerc will not dare go directly against the FIA. Notice how they have not said they are pulling out, or made any significant noises in the last few weeks. They are being good and following in line.

I bet you Mosley is going to have a hard time getting re-elected if he causes F1 to lose Ferrari, Renault, Toyota and the Red Bull teams.

Rubbish. Don't forget that the F1 makes up a tiny part of the FIA. I bet most of its members couldn't give two stuffs about F1. Mosely may lose the election, but it will be more down to the Nazi hookers debacle rather than anything to do with F1.

The good of the sport is to find a solution WITHOUT losing any of the current teams. You might prefer Lola and Prodrive to Ferrari and Renault, but i promise you, you are a minority.

Of course the ideal solution is to keep all the current teams (apart from Toyota who I despise). But a competitive F1 that thrives without the big teams is better than an uncompetitive F1 that is little more than a two horse race with the big teams.
 
a competitive F1 that thrives without the big teams

I think the point everyone here is trying to make is that that would not be F1. It would be a more expensive GP2.
 
I think the point everyone here is trying to make is that that would not be F1. It would be a more expensive GP2.

F1 is the formula, not the teams. Even if the 7 teams pulled out (not that they will), the sport would suffer a slump for a few years but within 5 years it would be nearly as popular as ever. People are fickle and have short memories for these things.
I get the feeling that some of the teams and drivers like to think that they are bigger than F1 or even that they are F1. Somebody needs to beat this viewpoint out of them.
 
From what you're saying it seems like you only care that it will be called "F1". Sure, it will be called "F1" without all the big teams and without the glamour, and without the insane speed, but that will be it. It's not going to be what F1 used to be. If you rename GP2 "F1", that doesn't mean that it is. There is more to F1 than the name.
 
Peter3hg, you're talking about past but there has never been an occasion where Ferrari left. Most people who dont follow F1 associate F1 with Ferrari and vice versa. I heard somewhere that 50% of F1 fans are Ferrari fans. Even if 60% of those are diehards its still alot the sport will lose.
 
Peter3hg, you're talking about past but there has never been an occasion where Ferrari left. Most people who dont follow F1 associate F1 with Ferrari and vice versa. I heard somewhere that 50% of F1 fans are Ferrari fans. Even if 60% of those are diehards its still alot the sport will lose.

I highly doubt those figures. Most people who don't follow F1 don't associate it with Ferrari at all. All the people I know who sort of follow F1 but not really, couldn't care less about Ferrari. They just care about whoever the British driver of the moment is. I'm sure most countries are the same (whichever drivers are from their country). I doubt more than 25% of F1 fans are Ferrari fans. From personal experience I would say that was about the proportion.
When Schumacher was around, I would imagine the number was around 50% but that was because so many people supported Schumacher and therefore supported Ferrari by association.
I'm sure I said this before, but I think if Ferrari, and Ferrari alone, left the worldwide figures wouldn't drop by even 10%.

From what you're saying it seems like you only care that it will be called "F1". Sure, it will be called "F1" without all the big teams and without the glamour, and without the insane speed, but that will be it. It's not going to be what F1 used to be. If you rename GP2 "F1", that doesn't mean that it is. There is more to F1 than the name.

That is your mistake. Everyone thinks that for some reason the cars will suddenly be slow as shit if the big teams leave. On the contrary, under the new rules the cars will actually be faster and less restricted than they have been for years. If anything, the restrictions under the cap are more true to this mysterious "spirit of F1" than we have had for years.
I couldn't care less what it is called, that is what everyone else seems concerned about, all I care about is that it is the pinnacle of motor sport and has very few shared parts. Like it or not, F1 would still be the pinnacle no matter who is in it. It is the rules that make it the pinnacle, not the teams.
 
Top