Ferrari Leave Formula 1

Yeah, this is getting ugly.

It's interesting to see what Ferrari's/FOTA's motives actually are - to get rid of the cap or to get rid of Mosley.

Evidently Mosley was actually willing to make a compromise and raise the budget cap, but Ferrari and Toyota wants the Budget cap and two tier system removed all together. The teams are really on the offensive here, and considering that the final entry date for the 2010 championship is May 29, who knows what's gonna happen.
 
There's a good 10 minute interview with Mosley available in BBC:s website. According to what he said in that he is not willing to raise the budget cap. Mosley also confirmed that apparently the entry deadline stays BUT if there are vacancies the teams can apply later on or buy the entry from one of the teams who have entered and have their entries accepted(which might well be the reason behind some of the new teams entering). So, in the end, the entry deadline is far from definitive. With that in mind the battle between teams and FOTA can continue for months.

However, the court action could complicate things. That'll mean the 2010 rules might be decided in courts, and we all know that court decisions can take a lot of time. That could mean delays on confirming the budget cap for 2010 which is essential for the new teams that are serious about entering with the budget cap and need to start cracking to get their infrasturcture ready in time. Here's hoping the courts are swift on the matter, delays on the rules being confirmed won't help anyone.
 
There's a good 10 minute interview with Mosley available in BBC:s website. According to what he said in that he is not willing to raise the budget cap. Mosley also confirmed that apparently the entry deadline stays BUT if there are vacancies the teams can apply later on or buy the entry from one of the teams who have entered and have their entries accepted(which might well be the reason behind some of the new teams entering). So, in the end, the entry deadline is far from definitive. With that in mind the battle between teams and FOTA can continue for months.

However, the court action could complicate things. That'll mean the 2010 rules might be decided in courts, and we all know that court decisions can take a lot of time. That could mean delays on confirming the budget cap for 2010 which is essential for the new teams that are serious about entering with the budget cap and need to start cracking to get their infrasturcture ready in time. Here's hoping the courts are swift on the matter, delays on the rules being confirmed won't help anyone.

In this case the court ruling will be very quick, probably within several weeks or a month, as the only issue they are raising is Ferrari's Veto over any techological changes in the rulebook, and whether budged cap and everything behind it fits in the "techological" sphere of these changes. I'd say it's 50/50.

At this point it's unclear what FOTA and Ferrari are trying to do, and what's Mosley's motivation behind all this. At least 5/10 F1 teams are not going to downsize 50-75% in a matter of months simply because such restructuring is impossible.
 
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In this case the court ruling will be very quick, probably within several weeks or a month, as the only issue they are raising is Ferrari's Veto over any techological changes in the rulebook, and whether budged cap and everything behind it fits in the "techological" sphere of these changes. I'd say it's 50/50.

Well, the first session is on tuesday so with good luck it could be over within a week. However, FIA already said they are going to appeal if they'll lose so who knows...
 
Wow. Talk about a twist in the tale and a sting in the FIA's tail. And this time, the idea for the teams' next move could have come from... Bernie.

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=37912

Will FOTA strip the FIA of its lawmaking powers?

16/05/2009

Friday's announcement that Ferrari is seeking an injunction against the FIA to prevent it from introducing a two-tier structure to F1 puts a new light on comments made to Pitpass' Chris Sylt late last year by Bernie Ecclestone. At that time, Ecclestone bluntly told Sylt that since F1's regulations affect the commercial side of the sport, the FIA should not be writing them. FOTA, the association of F1 teams, may well have cottoned on just in time.

"The sporting regulations basically are what generate the income and we run the commercial business. The FIA should just be the police looking at the rules," said Ecclestone and the teams agree.

"The international federation should simply be the referee. We should write the rules, not have them imposed by Max without speaking to anyone," said Flavio Briatore, Renault F1 team principal, on Thursday and it looks like he has the law on his side.

The reason for this is a European Commission ruling in 2001 that said the FIA must "have no influence over the commercial exploitation of the Formula One Championship." Ecclestone's comments echo this is as he told Sylt that "when we had this problem with the European Commission, they made it very clear that the FIA purely regulate the sport. Even to the extent that the teams and us should be writing the technical and sporting regulations."

But even before the EC ruling, Mosley acknowledged the FIA could not dictate on areas which interfere with the teams' businesses.

In 2000, at a UK government Select Committee meeting covering tobacco sponsorship of F1 teams, Mosley said "the difficulty is that we are dealing with commercial entities whom I have to persuade. If I could just say that is it and dictate, but I cannot. We can on the rules, on things like safety, but we cannot on things which would interfere with their commercial affairs."

'So how can the FIA make the cost-cutting regulations?', you may well ask. Well the answer, according to Ecclestone, is: "They can't really. The teams allow them." He explains that the FIA has been writing the regulations because the teams haven't opposed it. However, by suggesting the budget cap, Mosley looks to have tipped the balance and the teams are no longer playing ball.

Pitpass understands that on 10 May FOTA Vice Chairman John Howett was reminded of Ecclestone's comments that the FIA should not, under European law, be writing F1's regulations. So even if Ferrari's injunction fails, the FIA could face further action from the teams and this time its very powers of lawmaking could be at stake.
 
Can you say "Oh my god"?
 
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Do they do all this stuff to keep F1 fans from getting bored in between races? Ever since I've been watching (since 2007) loads and loads of political stuff has been going on.
 
^It certainly looks like it doesn't it...I'm happy this is happening though, the FIA really need a wake-up call...
 
Thank god.
 
I'm glad they are attacking the FIA on this budget cap bullshit as it is absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary. Putting a budget cap, ruins the whole point of F1 and hinders tech advancement in the sport. Attracting new teams is nice but, the FIA shouldn't cater their rules to new comers. If the teams can't afford it then they should join another series to compete in, leave F1 to the big dogs.

^I'd have to agree with this.

I think the point is, the teams aren't necessarily opposed to a budget cap, they are opposed to a two-tier system, which they rightly should be. Every team should be racing under the same set of rules and regulations.

The problem with the suggested ?40 Million figures is that it's just impossible for the existing teams to reduce their budget to this level is such a short time frame. This is one of the biggest problems the FIA have, they introduce rule changes to often and too quickly.

They are suppose to be trying to reduce costs, but some of their rulings contradict this. For example, KERS. Every team has invested a lot of time, effort and money into for what, it's been standardised next year.

I can understand the frustration the teams have with the FIA and their 'inconsistencies.'

If the main purpose of the budget cap is to attract new teams to the sport, then maybe they should look at having them agree to a long term deal with the sport. Where a new team runs under a budget cap if they wish, for their first year with 'more' technical development freedom to help them be more competitive in their first year. Then from then on, the budget cap is removed and they follow the same technical development restrictions as every other team. I'm not sure if this is possible or would work, but it is a thought.

However, in light of this new information that the FIA can't write F1 regulations, hopefully this gives teams the leverage to stop the whole two tier system and this debacle is laid to rest.
 
Scheckter considered handing back F1 title

Jody Scheckter has revealed that he has considered handing back his world championship. The 59-year-old South African, now a highly successful organic farmer, won his drivers' title for Ferrari in 1979 - an achievement not surpassed until Michael Schumacher broke through for the Italian team 21 years later.

As Formula One now grapples with the teams' major fight with the FIA over budget caps and governance methods, Scheckter told the BBC that he is appalled by the sport's leadership.

"The politics that have crept into Formula One, and the way that things are handled now, is very, very disappointing," said Scheckter, who won 10 races and retired after failing to defend his title in 1980.

"There have been stages when I have thought 'I am going to give back my world championship' because I have felt so strongly about it,? he continued.

"Some of the regulations and some of the decisions that have been made by the FIA in the last years I think have been terrible. I think the sport's going through a dictatorship that is going wrong, as most dictatorships go wrong sooner or later."

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090516163003.shtml
 
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75390

Ecclestone: Two-tier will be scrapped

By Matt Beer Sunday, May 17th 2009, 09:42 GMT

Bernie Ecclestone says that although Friday's crunch meeting between the teams and the FIA ended in stalemate over the budget cap, both parties did agree that the controversial two-tier system should not go ahead.

Formula 1's commercial rights holder also believes that the chances of any of the current teams carrying out their threats not to participate in the 2010 world championship are slim.

Under the current 2010 rules, teams can choose to either adhere to a ?40 million budget cap and enjoy greater technical freedom, or continue to spend freely but run to more restrictive regulations, which some teams have estimated would leave them up to three seconds per lap slower than the capped teams.

The prospect of two parallel sets of rules was one of the main sticking points between the teams and the governing body, but Ecclestone believes the two-tier system is now highly unlikely to proceed.

"I think the most important thing that upset everybody, they didn't like, was this two-tier technical system, so I think it has been agreed that we shouldn't have that. We should have just one set of regulations," he told the BBC.

"I think everybody is more or less happy with the budget cap. Just how much. They'll go with it higher [than ?40 million], maybe it'll be lower. It's a case of just sorting it out.

"Everyone will be under the same regulations."

He added that he had his own misgivings about the two-tier proposal.

"I always thought that was a bit stupid," Ecclestone was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "It was important to get rid of it."

If the two-tier proposal was shelved, Ecclestone had no doubt that the teams currently planning to withhold their 2010 entries would return to the fold.

"I am confident all the teams will still be racing next year," he said.


Bernie's now a classic case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He's playing "good cop" now.
 
This guy is incredible...:p
 
It's all pointing to one direction. No two-tier champioship with all the manufacturers and Max dethroned! I certainly hope so :p
 
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