Developments at Silverstone
The Silverstone media centre was busier than usual this morning and of course, the talk was all about FOTA’s announcement to form a breakaway series.
We knew that both parties were serious when they named their terms for the future of the sport, but what we didn’t expect was for FOTA to go public on plans to split when they did: just after midnight today. Yesterday a compromise deal with the FIA looked a distinct possibility.
FOTA released a statement that said, “The wishes of the majority of the teams have been ignored. Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006. Despite this and the uncompromising environment, FOTA has genuinely sought compromise.
“It has become clear however, that the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship.
“These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners.”
Strong words. The threat of a breakaway is as serious as it gets.
The FIA’s response was just as to the point and read, “The FIA is disappointed but not surprised by FOTA’s inability to reach a compromise in the best interests of the sport. It is clear that elements within FOTA have sought this outcome throughout the prolonged period of negotiation and have not engaged in the discussions in good faith.”
So what to make of it all? The teams have all the aces in their hand. The likes of Ferrari, McLaren and the manufacturers at some of the circuits which have been removed from the Formula 1 calendar over the last few years is an exciting prospect. Imola? European Grand Prix at Silverstone anyone?
However, so much has yet to be played out. The talk in the media centre here is that the move by FOTA is a way of putting pressure on Mosley to step down. Of course, he won’t go without a fight, but if he did a new president would be appointed who might be more sensitive to FOTA’s needs. If that happened then perhaps all would be forgiven and we’d just have one series next year instead of a splintered sport.
But right now, anything can happen…
3.45pm
The FIA has just released the following:
“The FIA’s lawyers have now examined the FOTA threat to begin a breakaway series. The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including wilful interference with contractual relations, direct breaches of Ferrari’s legal obligations and a grave violation of competition law. The FIA will be issuing legal proceedings without delay.
“Preparations for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship continue but publication of the final 2010 entry list will be put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights.”
4.00pm
Ross Brawn, Christian Horner, Adam Parr and Martin Whitmarsh attended the FIA press conference in the media centre.
Although the FOTA teams (Brawn GP, Red Bull and McLaren) were keen to point out that the situation they’re in at the moment was the only option they could take – as they had to either stop racing, or find an alternative – they also talked candidly about their desires to ensure the future of Formula 1 racing in whatever form it takes.
“We effectively reached a stalemate,” Christian Horner commented. “It’s been a busy 24 hours, but it goes back a long time before that. The fundamental issue is that we cannot enter a Championship without the rules being decided. They have to be sorted, clear and concise for every member.”
Ross Brawn added, “The teams’ ambition is not to take over Formula 1. F1 belongs to all of us, it’s not owned by anyone. In that way it is like the Olympic Games or the World Cup. I don’t think anything that’s happening at the moment is good for the sport, and everyone knows that.”
Adam Parr, when asked to comment merely replied, “Williams is a Formula 1 team”. Asked whether that was all he had to say he continued, “that’s all there is to say.”
When the subject turned towards the new breakaway series Martin Whitmarsh pointed out that already, the Championship was gathering pace. “Formula 1 has not done a good job of developing new teams. We have already had quite a lot of interest from other teams who want to be part of this new series.”
However, after 40 minutes of questions and answers Parr, after reminding us that Williams had no other option but to enter the FIA World Championship due to their financial position, admitted that he found it reassuring that FOTA had the best interests of the sport in mind and the chance of a reunion was by no means extinguished.
Ed returned from a stint in Milan, working on the Italian version of Autocar, and joined the team in August 2007. After two years of countless scooter accidents and a constant battle against coffee addiction it was a relief for him to start writing in his mother tongue. As well as managing the website, Ed writes various features and is a regular contributor to CNN, Channel 4, Sky News, the BBC and a number of radio stations. He was also awarded the MSA/Renault Young Motoring Journalist of the Year in January 2009. 
Dave Cubbedge:
June 19th, 2009 3:45pm
I find it strange that after all the fines and penalties levied out against all who ‘bring the sport into disrepute’, why does the FIA seem immune? They have brought the sport into disrepute countless times in the last ten years and suffer no penalty. Most of the time they are narcissitic enough to believe that no harm has been done. Especially Max.
I hope the breakaway series works, or works well enough to bring an end to the Mosely/Ecclestone era. Bring on a new championship with Silverstone, Imola, Suzuka, Indy, heck bring them back to Watkins Glen and Long Beach!!! Make it so the track and/or organizers actually make some money instead of being forced to donate to the Ecclestone Family Trust. There should be enough to make everyone happy if it doesn’t go to Bernie. And lets stop going to places who don’t have a rich motorsports history, only an open checkbook. Turkey and China want out, get rid of them. Canada wants in, get that race back on the schedule!
Russell Unitt:
June 19th, 2009 3:52pm
And so, the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.
Up to a point, FOTA were prepared to come back into F-1 but only under their terms and, if it wasn’t to be (and with Max displaying predictable self-righteous belligerence, it never was), then they needed a detailed Plan B.
Of course, it could still all change at the proverbial 11th hour and as we speak you can be sure the CVC blowtorch will be burning Bernie’s nether regions. CVC will be apoplectic with rage that their multi-billion dollar investment is about to evaporate before their very eyes, especially when it has occurred as a result of the intransigence of a single person. Max may yet lose and if he does, he will go quickly and quietly via a palace coup.
Failing that, FOTA will proceed and we can expect a detailed plan to be rolled out quickly and with the efficiency one might expect from a professional group that has been quietly and efficiently working behind the scenes for several weeks. There will be a name for the series, an entry list (and don’t be surprised if it includes entries from Prodrive and Lola), and a list of traditional, fan-friendly circuits to race on.
The argument that this will be a re-run of the Indycar split does not hold water. When that split occurred the energy was dispersed across the 2 ‘new’ series. Each side gained nothing and was in fact, 50% worse off than it had been before and it showed.
With the F-1 / FOTA split, all the sponsorship money, all the best drivers, all of the manufacturers and most of the teams, all of the key powerplants and the vast majority of the best designers and engineers will be on the FOTA side.
You can be certain FOTA will have racing at Silverstone, Montreal, Nurburgring, Indianapolis, Imola and Magny-Cours. There may even be a few track surprises in store (here in Oz, Adelaide would love to stick it up Melbourne). Unshackled from Bernie and CVC’s drive to get huge fees from desperate and often despotic governments, other tracks will quickly seek to unshackle themselves from the F-1 train-wreck. Above all, FOTA will have the fans.
F-1 will have Williams, Force India and a few other teams we have never heard of before. Apart from Williams, they will have old Cosworth engines, 2nd string drivers, sponsors, designers and engineers. They will have cookie-cutter tracks that nobody goes to in places that nobody cares about. Such an FIA F-1 will self-destruct and it may do so before a 2010 regulation wheel is turned.
Within 1 to 2 years you can expect FOTA to be Formula 1 once more. Bernie, Max and CVC will, one way or the other, be gone. A new fairer and cooperative FIA will emerge and fans will again have the racing they have wanted and craved for, for longer than most of us can remember.
F-1 is about to suffer the self-destruction it needs to have, but I believe this necessary temporary pain will be followed by a cleansing renewal. A new stronger Formula 1 will re-emerge, and hopefully we will all be able to look back on this day, as the day it all began.
Rich Ambroson:
June 19th, 2009 4:45pm
I hope that FOTA continues to stand firm against the insanity of Mosley’s annual “cost cutting” rule changes that always increase costs, as well as the way the commercial rights of F1 have been tossed away to banks that have no interest in the inherent “Sport” of F1, and see it only as a way of recouping bad investments.
I have stopped watching F1 this year on a regular basis as I have long tired of the political machinations imposed by a “leader” of the FIA who dictates to the fans that a motorized version of chess is more desirable than an motor race. The tracks these motorized strategy sessions take place on for the most part have little interest to me, for both aesthetic and historic reasons.
I hope that FOTA stands firm on their principles. Should they be able to achieve their goals by way of some agreement with the FIA of course that would be ideal. But the teams have compromised with Mosley for years and years, and the sport has deteriorated rather than evolved. There are no more compromises to make with Mosley. BCE must also be held to the fire along with his paymasters at CVC. I am all for people making a profit on well thought out investments. I am NOT about to condone a sport with the rich heritage of Formula One being bled dry in order for the bad decisions made by bankers to be financially covered.
Carl A H Martin:
June 19th, 2009 4:46pm
That the situation should have reached this point is ludicrous. F1 is the pinnacle of Motor Sport, it should be allowed to develop not be stifled by rules introduced without discussion. Mosley and Ecclestone have to recognise the teams provide the spectacle, not them. OK Ecclestone has brought money to the table but not all of it, and he has benefited richly from it! However the teams and their sponsors provide an awful lot more. I have been following F1 for more years than I care to say, I do not want to wait to see an ‘new and improved’ product. Mosley and Ecclestone need to sit down now and reach a sensible agreement with the teams now.. Please!
Peter van Riet:
June 19th, 2009 6:31pm
Most newsstories today are about the future of Formula 1. But what about the future of the FIA? Think about the issues in the World Touring Car Championship that came to light in Pau for instance. Or the fact that the FIA has to look to the IRC to ensure the survival of the World Rally Championship. And what about prototype racing? Can’t say the FIA has a strong track record since the FIA deemed it necessary to switch to Formula 1 style engines in the late 80’s, early 90’s.
Not too long ago there was also talk of a breakaway series as we all know. It didn’t happen because the teams were not united enough.
However: that was a clear sign that something was wrong. The FIA, and in particular Max Mosley, chose to ignore the signs completely or maybe even did not see the sign.
Arrogance or a lack of adaptability?
I like the scenario that Russel Unitt describes in his comment. I would deerly love that to be the future.
Where does this leave the FIA? Does Max Mosley have an answer to that question?
Bruce:
June 19th, 2009 7:16pm
The recent announcement by FOTA is a welcome breathe of fresh air for the fans that are slowly watching a sport become dull and boring like NASCAR. I am a new fan to F1 having watched religously every race for the past 3 years (night and day)and my opinion is that FOTA has got the right idea to protest the current situation with F1 management. I am excited to hear what classic racetracks might return to use again. Personally, I would love to see a GP in the US again. Watkins Glen would be just fine by me.
Rudy Pyatt:
June 19th, 2009 8:13pm
I’m in complete agreement with Russell Unitt and Peter van Riet. Let me add that the CART/IRL split analogy also fails because there is no FIA series already increasing in exposure and sponsorship all set to fill the void as NASCAR was in the 1990s.
The split that really mirrors this one is the CART/USAC split, circa 1979. There, the team owners (Roger Penske and Dan Gurney among them) broke from USAC over arbitrary, dictatorial governance and inequitable commercial arrangements. Sound familiar?
USAC had AJ Foyt for awhile before devolving into a regional series that has yet to regain national (let alone international) relevance 30 years later. Note too that in retaliation for the split, USAC tried to stop the CART teams from racing at Indy. This failed in the courts. Current EU anti-monopoly laws and regulations will likely give the same result here.
As we know, CART went from strength to strength until the late ’90s. The IRL split ruined things thereafter because Indy is the one open-wheel race everyone knows here in the US, guaranteed of national TV coverage. So Tony George held all the cards and was bound to win that battle in the long run (a hollow victory given that NASCAR picked up the pieces along the way).
You don’t have that with the FOTA/FIA split. Monaco, the closest analogue to Indy in GP racing, is reportedly free to do as it chooses and is not bound to participate in the FIA F1 series.
So let’s have a Grand Prix World Championship. Let’s have a World Motor Federation, as ACCUS and others implied they would create in the wake of MM’s survival of the no-confidence motion last year.
Good call Russell.
George Allegrezza:
June 19th, 2009 10:14pm
I can think of ten or twelve tracks right off the top of my head that Dorna and FOTA can incorporate into a new international open-wheel championship (can’t call it F1 or a “world” championship without an OK from FOM and FIA, respectively). Since the teams and the sponsors have already budgeted for a championship, and since Dorna has proven it can organize television, logistics, etc. on a worldwide basis with MotoGP, I can’t see how a credible championship that concentrates on areas of the world that are actually interested in motor racing won’t be a reality by the beginning of 2010. It will probably look a lot like mid- to late ‘80s F1 from a schedule perspective, and I’d argue that’s a good thing.
As with MotoGP, the teams will be interested in an evolutionary approach to rules that would enable them to apply advanced technologies while keeping costs at a reasonable level. And, I can use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restate my decades-old pipe dream for engine commonality between Indy, FOTA, and the ACO, all of whom have proposed something akin to 2-liter turbocharged engines for the post-2010 period. A group of manufacturers could produce ethanol spec for Indy, sprint spec for FOTA, or endurance spec for Le Mans, and these engines could be used by constructors in any or all three of the series. Homologation processes would be public and transparent, and each manufacturer would be allowed one step change per season. If the rules were stable and the same basic engine could be used at Indy, Le Mans, and the new international championship, the marketing benefits could be massive, and the economies of scale would make motorsport more interesting to the manufacturers, not less.
Abe:
June 20th, 2009 12:01am
Mosley, Ecclestone and the FIA, are typical of sport administrators. They have become all too powerful, to such a point they believe that everyone participating (who, incidentally, provide all the money as well as the sport itself) are in their thrall. Hence, they believe, the sport must be run for the benefit of the administrators. It matters not which sport, from table tennis to F1, the psyche of an administration is always the same. So, well done FOTA; good luck; and stick to your guns – the fans and supporters will be behind you whatever the outcome because you are the sport, not the triumvirate of Mosley/Ecclestone/FIA.
Paal Hanson:
June 20th, 2009 9:23am
Funny old world this!
Think back to 1982 was it? When Mosley and Ecclestone were the movers and shakers in FOCA (Formula One Constructors Association) Balestre was FIA and there was a big old war on words.
FOCA threatend to do their own thing, in those days of course without Ferrari who where not part of FOCA. In the end everyone came to a compromise and F1 was saved.
Back then there where no winners and no loosers per se. But there where a couple of years with mistrust and broken friendships around the paddock.
I don’t see any heroes or villains in this ongoing war between FOTA and FIA. Both sides are in the wrong. FOTA has an agenda, and so does FIA. Both have strong willed leaders.
Whether it goes one or the other way there will be no winners, not even us, the fans!
I do believe however that a compromise will be found sooner rather than later.
That is what I hope for!
Paal Hanson:
June 25th, 2009 9:55pm
I told you so……………