Friday, June 19, 2009

Formula 1 stands on the brink

SILVERSTONE, June 19 — Formula One stands on the brink today unsure whether it is going to tear itself apart or move towards a united future.

Which way it will go, with five of the current teams facing a deadline to sign up unconditionally for 2010 or risk being excluded, is the billion dollar question that nobody can answer with any certainty.

The likelihood that the teams would refuse to bow to the demands of the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) appeared very real at the British Grand Prix yesterday with at least two clearly determined to give no ground.

The consequences of that happening would likely be far-reaching.

If the five — Brawn, BMW-Sauber, McLaren, Renault and Toyota — are then replaced by would-be new entrants waiting in the wings, a threatened rival series looks very much on the cards.

Both sides have been waging a war of letters and statements for weeks and, despite attempts to reach a last-ditch deal, appeared as entrenched as ever.

The eight-member teams’ association FOTA want significant change to the governance of the sport and see FIA president Max Mosley, who is up for re-election in October but has yet to announce whether he is standing, as the major obstacle.

The FIA has accused the FOTA teams, led by champions Ferrari, of wanting to run the sport.

While some paddock veterans saw a split as inevitable, others questioned whether FOTA’s unity would hold or whether the FIA would be first to blink.



FOTA MEETING

While FOTA bosses met at Renault’s Enstone headquarters to decide how to respond to FIA president Max Mosley’s latest letter, drivers expressed dismay.

“I have no idea what is going to happen, it’s such a strange feeling,” said Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, whose team are one of those threatening to walk away.

“It will be a big disappointment if they can’t find an agreement. A piece of history is going to break down and it will be everyone’s fault probably.

“I am only sad for the fans and the sport, because we are here to write history, and for the moment we are only writing about what the future of F1 will be and the politics.”

Both sides can muster persuasive arguments and both have plenty to lose.

The FIA say costs have to come down and a budget cap is necessary to allow new teams to come in and to keep existing ones in the face of the credit crunch.

They are prepared to soften the blow by allowing a cap of €100 million (RM490 million) next year before going down to the originally proposed €45 million in 2011.

Some FOTA teams say the social and human consequences of such a measure, with thousands of jobs at risk, are unacceptable and unnecessary.

The FIA has suggested teams agree to extend the now-expired 1998 Concorde Agreement governing the sport until either 2014 or the signing of a new deal.

However that date alone represents a significant stumbling block, requiring a huge leap of faith on the part of the teams that all the parties would then be willing to put pen to a revised deal. And trust is in short supply.

FOTA have the manufacturers, the engines and the top drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who made clear yesterday that he would not compete in any series without the glamour names.

They also have Ferrari, although the FIA say they are entered unconditionally for 2010 under an existing contract along with Red Bull’s two teams.

Going it alone would give the teams control of the revenues but whether the manufacturers, at board level, have the stomach to do this at a time of financial turmoil is a moot point.

Some FOTA members have more to lose than others. As one source pointed out, Formula One is mere marketing to some manufacturers but the only reason that the likes of championship-leaders Brawn and McLaren exist.

The legal consequences of a split are also to be considered.

“If they do try to set up their own series...there are big problems ahead for them,” commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone warned this month.

“Any action could run to hundreds of millions of pounds, who knows how much?” — Reuters

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