Save F1 or stick with Mosley: the World Motor Sports Council’s choice (Updated)
Today's World Motor Sports Council meeting is critical to F1's future
Today’s World Motor Sports Council meeting was originally set to ratify the FIA’s planned entry list for 2010.
But the failure of President Max Mosley to supply a list, and the declaration by eight of F1’s ten teams that they will form their own breakaway championship unless he steps aside, leaves the WMSC with a straight choice:
Cast Mosley aside – or provoke a split that could destroy Formula 1.
Update: Mosley claims the threat of a split has been avoided and he will not stand for re-election. More in the comments.
A credible threat?
It has been suggested by some that FOTA’s threat to form a breakaway championship is merely a bargaining tool with no serious weight behind it.
It would not be the first time such threats had been made and come to naught. Only four years ago the teams warned they would form their own Grand Prix World Championship but ultimately backed down. In 1980 the Formula One Constructors’ Association (led by Bernie Ecclestone and aided by Max Mosley) made a similar claim which also proved false.
FOTA is wisely presenting its breakaway championship as a last resort because it is the outcome no-one really wants. They have not event gone so far as to give it a name. Indeed, it was Mosley who first suggested they should break away, handing useful ammunition to FOTA who can now claim the whole thing was his idea, further undermining his position.
But does this mean we should doubt the seriousness of their threat? Some believe that, having announced their rival championship in June, FOTA cannot get it ready for the start of next year.
There has been speculation that Ferrari’s involvement in A1 Grand Prix (to which it supplies cars) means FOTA could adopt the infrastructure of the struggling series to get its championship up and running. This time last year the next A1 Grand Prix schedule had already been announced, but the 2009/10 calendar has not yet been published.
Nor should we discount the possibility of the teams decamping en masse to a rival championship – for example the Le Mans Series which, bolstered with a few rounds from its counterpart American series, could serve as an alternative. It would offer the technical freedom the teams crave, with petrol and diesel engines already competing side-by-side and hybrid engines due to be introduced soon.
The failure of ‘divide and rule’
Mosley’s hope that FOTA’s breakaway threat isn’t serious at least appears more realistic than the prospects of FOTA’s eight teams being divided. Writing in Autosport (sub. req.), Dieter Rencken suggests the total value of the bond entered into by the alliance is worth €1bn (£858m / $1.4bn), a powerful indication of their commitment not only to each other, but also to competing in international motor sport.
Bernie Ecclestone has said he is “not going to let things disintegrate over what is, in the end, basically nothing.” He hasn’t indicated which side of the divide he is going to come down on, but it would be a first for Ecclestone if he didn’t pick the one that is going to make him the most money. So ask yourself, are the sponsors and the cash-rich Asian governments going to pour their cash into the championship with Force India and Campos or the one with Ferrari and McLaren?
Today the World Motor Sports Council must ask how the FIA president has managed to take eight teams including some of F1′s most historic names, who are prepared to commit to competing in Formula 1 in the future, and alienate them from the sport entirely. With Luca di Montezemolo representing Ferrari and FOTA to put forwards their case, it is likely to be an explosive event.
The alternative Mosley offers is a world championship bereft not only of its major competitors, but increasing numbers of the new teams that submitted entries for 2010, which are now backing away because the sport is in such a mess.
FOTA is not seeking a break from F1 or even a break from the FIA – it wants Max Mosley replaced by someone they can trust. If the WMSC does not take a clear step towards making that a reality, then with every passing day the dire prospect of a split in Formula 1 will become even more likely.
More on the FIA-FOTA row
- FOTA’s rumoured ‘new F1′ calendar for 2010 revives USA and Canadian rounds
- Max Mosley is wrong. The only split F1 needs is a break away from him
- FOTA teams offer three-year F1 deal but will Max Mosley accept it?
- The FIA must not let its row with Ferrari become a split that would destroy F1
- Will the F1 teams back a candidate in the FIA president election?
- Are FOTA a force for good in Formula 1?
- Max Mosley: five more years? (Poll)
scunnyman said on 24th June 2009, 17:25
Another thing i just thought of.
FOTA had been saying that nothing could happen at the WMSC meeting to change their minds and they would forge ahead with breakaway plans.
Does this mean the breakway was ******** from the get go? If so i am disappointed. I, like a lot of other people had resigned myself to the end of F1 and a new chapter was beginning. I hope that things do now improve in F1 and we can settle down to watch the racing.
mp4-19b said on 24th June 2009, 17:51
The fascist regime had to end at some point in time. now that it has, we can really look ahead into the future with great hope. this is the best thing that could have happened to formula one. i know for a fact that max mosley is leaving halfheartedly. but things can change, you never know until the next new president is elected. hope max keeps up his word, i strongly suspect he’ll not.
mp4-19b said on 24th June 2009, 17:53
quote from the bbc article
“it is not the first time Mosley has promised to stand down as FIA president – in June 2004, he announced he would stand down from his position in October of that year, only to rescind his decision a month later and secure re-election.”
so you never know.
mp4-19b said on 24th June 2009, 18:00
i think we ought to wait until its really “OFFICIAL”, that mosley will not be contesting the election. who knows, max might threaten his opponents or even bribe them to not contest the election & again get re-elected. He’s after all done that in the past, so there is no reason why he’ll not do it again. i hope he sticks to his word & steps down with whatever little remaining dignity he’s got. If there’s one person i’ll not trust, it’ll have to be MAX OSWALD MOSLEY.
Leaf said on 24th June 2009, 18:25
I agree with Kovy’s first comment.
Now that FOTA is staying with FIA until 2012 where does that leave us?
1) FOTA gets to implement their version of “glide-path” cost reduction, and Max has to leave after the current term in office.
2) Both Max and Bernie get to claim they are the smartest guys in the room for saving the F1 series from splitting apart.
And…..what do the fans get?
1) Well…..apparently we do not get the exciting sounding race schedule posted by FOTA only a couple days ago.
2) Being an American in North America, apparently we get no GP in the forseeable future.
While I can hope for the best, it sems like everybody gets a little something except the FANS!!
Well, Well, business as usual says Bernie, nothing to see here, keep moving please.
Hope I’m wrong.
mythrenegade said on 24th June 2009, 19:01
As a former fan of open wheel racing in america, trust me on this: Nobody wins when a series splits.
Had max somehow managed to get enough cars to fill the grid, they could prop the corpse up for years (ala IRL and its dismal attendance) long enough to destroy the FOTA series due to confusion. The end result? In America there is one series again (IndyCar) that draws a tiny fraction of the interest it did fifteen years ago. In the mid nineties, Indy racing was larger than nascar. Now? Fishing shows outdraw their races.
Joel
just me said on 25th June 2009, 5:37
Disagree:
Indy was a split down the “middle” (some teams here, some there) and was competing with local audience and little TV revenue. What was more the deciding factor, the new series were just not spectacular and the thereby lost the fans.
The F1-breakaway would have been an exodus – all in the new series and NOBODY in F1 (besides Williams and the Force for the time they are bound by contract).
VERY different situation! Outcome unpredictable.
Why not watch a FOTA-F1 and FIA-F1 race on alternating weekends and get twice your F1-fix. Have the SERIES compete with each other. The better wins the heart of the audience, the TV rights, the sponsors etc.
The better SPECTACLE wins!
The fans (that is YOU and me) win!
(All this has been discussed on other threads before – sorry for repetitions, but some folks may not have followed those arguments).
theRoswellite said on 24th June 2009, 19:10
FIA CAVES !
MAX IS OUT !
FOTA BRINGS REASON TO COST REDUCTION !
IF………IF all of this holds, then we have taken a huge step toward an equitable and rational championship.
Don’t expect to kill this Two-Headed Monster all in one blow, it has existed for too long to simply limp off stage, even from a body blow as lethal as today’s.
Hopefully FOTA, and a “new” FIA, can work toward the termination of BE’s commercial stranglehold on our beloved sport.
Say goodnight Max…..one head down, one to go.
VXR said on 25th June 2009, 0:42
hmmmm….angry!
just me said on 25th June 2009, 5:54
The puppeteer is still in full charge. Just his beloved lead puppet gets exchanged for a newer model.
Sorry, no head of relevance is down! All stays the same – till death does us part ….
PS: Max gave us at least an entertaining show between the race weekends and seasons. The long winter months can get sooo boring – what are we going to do without him??? No controversies, no juicy scandals – we are looking into an abyss of boredom!!
persempre said on 24th June 2009, 20:18
FOTA will meet the media tomorrow to outline its` proposals in detail.
VXR said on 25th June 2009, 0:39
For anyone interested,the level of costs for a top F1 team in the early 90s was…….yes,you guessed it! Around £40,000,000
Accidentalmick said on 25th June 2009, 9:05
Just a final thought, as the saying goes “Follow the money”.
CVC have enormous debts to service because of the ludicrous amount they paid Ecclestone for the marketing rights of F1.
The teams were asking for a bigger share of the income from TV. CVC (who BC works for) cannot do this because they need that money. The answer, make the teams spend less.
Thus, it seems to me, the budget cap was never about making it easier for new teams to join but more about avoiding giving the existing teams a fair share of the income.
I am sorry that there will be no breakaway.
Antifia said on 25th June 2009, 12:25
Let me make one thing clear: I have nothing whatsoever against Asia. I just think that in order to be “awarded” a GP a country should fullfil one of the two criteria (preferably both): i) Get a good driver in F1, create a sustainable fan base, get a GP or ii) build an awesome track. The problem with the Asian GPs currently in F1 is that they don’t have either. Great facilities, rubish tracks and no fans (no drivers to root for) — I know the tracks have been designed by an European, but this is beside the point. All the while, people in other countries who do watch F1 have to wake up at 4:00am on Sunday’s for half of the season.
HounslowBusGarage said on 25th June 2009, 14:42
Keith,
why has my comment been removed?
It was there for a short while and I even think someone replied to it. But now it’s gone. I didn’t insult anyone or use any rude words, honest . . .