I have a feeling that if Todt were to become FIA president, things would run very smoothly, we have to remember that as much as he is a Ferrari man, he is a dedicated professional, that has excelled in every job he has done so far.

however, if Ferrari does end up splitting and splintering into FIA GT, and other series they will still be under FIA authority most possibly, and they will always clash with FIA at some point.

In my case i would keep watching f1, because at the end it will make the most sense even without the reds…
p.s: I’ve been a dedicated Ferrari fan since the 1995 season… (after Senna died actually)but firstly I’m an F1 fan…

Their revenge would make the MacLaren fine seem like a gentle kiss

Nice phrase.
Do you think therefore that FOTA has already drawn up an alternative racing solution?

Don’t think that it is impossible for F1 to self-destruct in the manner of US Open-Wheel racing. That series was at a high point in fan support and sponsor involvement and it all went south when the actors involved over estimated their relative importance. It is certainly possible…only requiring an unhealthy degree of hubris, and at least two of our participants seem well endowed in this area.

The goal is having a sport that is run in a reasonable and democratic manner; that is the key issue, and the subject which must be addressed, if disagreements such as this are not to resurface on a continual basis.

One can only hope that in the end vested self-interest will carry the day, and a reasonable compromise will result.

Please, Keith and Martin, keep us on track.

Remember the “Three Tenors” Football World Cup in Italy when FIAT freed Di Montezemolo to organise the event superbly. There are real business men and great organisers in F1 not amateurs as is Max or small time wheeler dealers either. For instance, what if anything has Max created that matches Ron Dennis life work, or BMW or Toyota or Daimler. The list is endless.

These organisations are wise enough to create a wholly owned quasi-independant promoter with racing as the prime interest knowing that profits and viewers would follow if governance is honest. If too much bother in the past, Max has ensured nothing but bother if they do not do so.

The bottom line is that most fans of F1 hardcore or not are either supporting the team or the driver. So if FOTA decide to take their teams to their own series then it’s not only the team but the drivers as well who will be going with them.

Who the hell would want to then watch F1 with drivers who aren’t the best in the world zipping tracks in same spec machinery? Don’t we already have that in GP2, A1GP, IRL and all the other open wheel series?

If FOTA splits then you can be sure all the TV rights and attention will go to that series while Bernie will have to deal with a CVC breakdown and Max trying to explain how he lost the crown jewel of motorsport.

Shame he didn’t remember saying that before coming up with the stupid medal idea

Haha too true.

To be honest I’m not convinced Bernie is joking but then neither am I convinced he’s being serious, I think it’s questionable and to an outsider there’s no obvious answer. I thought this at the time. But I do think it’s interesting that Brundle makes a point of asking him and prior to that says “lets have a word with Bernie there’s something I wanna have a quick chat with him about” it’s clearly premeditated and it’s something Brundle has questioned before in his commentary. I think Bernie doesn’t care who wins the championship he cares when it’s won.

This leads us into the question of how far the IndyCar split in the 1990s was a consequence of the imperfect unification between USAC and CART in the late ’70s (not my area of expertise!).

My reading of it is that CART split from USAC but I’m not gonna pretend my knowledge goes any further than here

I think that’s an extremely optimistic assumption!

lol If you’re idea of an optimistic assumption is a tragedy then I gotta hear your pessimistic version.

Would the regulations be close enough, would there be enough decent circuits, would enough of the big-name teams be involved? And, critically, what would the breakaway championship be called?.

I love that your critical point is the name. Funnily enough didn’t Ecclestone copyright the name F1GP and a few other names around ‘05? Some joker came up with the name Formula X which I imagine would appeal to Redbull with all their interest in “Xtreme” sport. I quite like F-Zero, or to avoid legal confusion with the computer game F-0. Moto GP isn’t exactly an improvement on Super Bikes is it. I mean come on Super Bikes says it all they’re super and they’re bikes lol.

Big name teams? Why don’t we say the seven named in your article. What about if they could produce customer cars? How many privateers would be interested then?

Regulations? It’s not about tight regulations its about the right regulations and I’d trust the F1 TWG to make them over the FIA.

Circuits? Silverstone, Imola, Magny Cours, Indianapolis, Circuit Gile de Villeneuve, Jerez, Fuji, A1 Ring. There are a lot of other good and viable circuits all over the world as you know and when the current contracts with F1 run out the new series could take at places like Monza, Monaco and Spa.

All these changes would rob the new series of continuity with the past.

Read that statement again and think back over the last decade in Formula One, how much continuity is there in F1 2009?

The loss of fans and sponsors’ revenues would be measured in tens of millions.

That all depends on the media campaign and coverage, the regulations and the racing. Immediately race hosts could pay less and charge less to fans.

The fewer cars you have in a race the less entertaining it is

I think that’s misguided belief if you’ll excuse me for saying so, it doesn’t take into account the relative competitiveness of the cars or drivers, the technological prowess of the cars, the nature of the circuits, the standard of television coverage or what people actually find entertaining.

Would say IndyCar is more entertaining than F1 because it has more competitors?

It’s all very well saying a team could run on £30m but would it be competitive?

With the massive performance advantages the FIA are offering, they would be more than competitive, they would be seconds per laps quicker than the uncapped teams.

Keith why, as your title states, is this just a fight with Ferrari? You article actually states that it isn’t

I see Ferrari as the leaders in this – yes, to an extent Montezemolo is representing FOTA, but his legal argument is ground in the agreement Ferrari and the FIA made in 2005.

Wasn’t the “once strong Indy Car championship” also formed out of a split in 1978?

This leads us into the question of how far the IndyCar split in the 1990s was a consequence of the imperfect unification between USAC and CART in the late ’70s (not my area of expertise!). But I think my basic point stands – unity good, splits bad.

Isn’t that a fairly pessimistic assumption? Surely there is the possibility that a split could be successful, that it could restore the racing principles of bygone eras, that the teams could make more money and the fans could have a series that is not only more entertaining but actually respects them. I’m not saying it would 100% be successful but then I’m not saying it will be a 100% failure, I don’t know how it would turn out.

I think that’s an extremely optimistic assumption!

F1 is not just about the teams, it’s about the tracks and the formula as well. Would the regulations be close enough, would there be enough decent circuits, would enough of the big-name teams be involved? And, critically, what would the breakaway championship be called? It almost certainly wouldn’t be “F1″.

All these changes would rob the new series of continuity with the past. We would have two rival championships competing for the right to be recognised as the ‘true’ F1. And this is where the point about the IndyCar split comes in.

Realistically, there would not be a clean break. It would be very messy. The loss of fans and sponsors’ revenues would be measured in tens of millions.