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After the disappointing opening round of the 2010 GP season opener from Bahrain, what can we expect this weekend from Melbourne, more of the same or an improvement?
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So, the 2010 season has begun. And it was one of
the most ballyhooed pre-seasons in my recent memory. With a new rules
package, new teams, new tracks, four world drivers champions on the
grid including the return of the seven time champion Michael
Schumacher, it was justifiably predicted to be a landmark year in the
sport.
What I didn’t count on was the landmark could be as the most boring season in decades. As Schumi himself characterized the race:
“It’s the start and then after it is just sort of go your pace and not do mistakes,” Schumacher told the BBC.
“Overtaking is basically impossible, other than if somebody makes a
mistake - Lewis had a little one so Nico was able to pass him, but got
back past at the pitstop. That’s about it.
“That’s the action we are going to have with unfortunately this kind of environment of race strategy.
“But, anyway, it was good fun. Especially the beginning and now we
are going to work forward in order to catch up what is in front of us.”
Whodathunk that the first race could be so boring as to actually
cause me to leave the screen to tend to some morning chores. And upon
my return what did I miss? Nada. Nothing. Niente.
There will be some who will be quick to blame the Sakhir course as
another non passable Tilke designed monstrosity. Nonsense say I. It’s
still the same old story of fast cars, aero reduced passing chances and
no engine differentials worth mentioning, all in conjunction with a
Tilke designed crap track.
Let’s hope the next stop in Melbourne presents more competitive on
track action. If not I fear for my interest in the balance of the
season.
Autosport.com: Schumacher regrets lack of action
The dust has settled. The swords have been laid down (for now). F1 is at peace, and should be intact at least until 2012. The FIA announced that Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, much to the relief of the motor reacing world.
The details of the regulations have not been revealed, but spending limits remain as part of the agreement. We might have peace now, but what happens in 2012? Hopefully, with Max on the outs, there’s less of a chance of another split when the current agreement expires.
FIA Press Release
Concorde Agreement
01/08/2009
Following approval by the World Motor Sport Council, late last night FIA President Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, heralding a renewed period of stability for the FIA Formula One World Championship.
The Concorde Agreement – a contract between the FIA, F1’s Commercial Rights-Holder and the participating Teams – sets out the basis on which the Teams participate in the Championship and share in its commercial success.
The WMSC has also approved a slightly revised set of stable Sporting and Technical Regulations (to apply from the 2010 Championship onwards), which have been agreed by the FIA and the Teams and which will be published shortly on the FIA’s website.
The new Concorde Agreement, which runs until 31 December 2012, provides for a continuation of the procedures in the 1998 Concorde Agreement, with decisions taken by working groups and commissions, upon which all teams have voting rights, before going to the WMSC for ratification.
In addition, as agreed in Paris on 24 June 2009, the Teams have entered into a resource restriction agreement, which aims to return expenditure to the levels that prevailed in the early 1990s.
With the 2009 Concorde Agreement and the resource restriction agreement in place, the FIA looks forward to a period of stability and prosperity in the FIA Formula One World Championship.
UK Times: FIA and F1 Teams Sign New Concorde Agreement
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is still recovering from a head and eye injury he suffered last week during an F1 practice session, and will not be able to race for some time. The Ferrari team needed a substitute driver, and they came up with an amazing one at that. Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement at the age of 40 to drive in F1 again.
The UK Daily Mail has more:
Ferrari’s Schumacher shocker! Seven-time world champion out of retirement to cover for Massa
Retired seven-time formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is set to make a sensational return to the sport following a three-year hiatus.
The 40-year-old German, currently employed by Ferrari in an advisory role, will step in for the injured Brazilian - and former team-mate - Felipe Massa, who recently left intensive care after fracturing his skull during qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Ferrari’s Formula One driver Michael Schumacher
‘Ferrari intends to entrust Michael Schumacher with Felipe Massa’s car for as long as the Brazilian driver is not able to race,’ a statement said.
‘Michael Schumacher has shown his willingness and in the next few days he will undergo a specific programme of preparation at the end of which it will be possible to confirm his participation in the championship starting with the European Grand Prix on Aug. 23.’
Read the rest at the UK Daily Mail
Well that was a short war. Cooler heads have prevailed in the shortest split in auto racing to save F1. The FIA announced this morning that they have come to an agreement to bring the FOTA teams back in the fold with plans to phase in cost reductions over the next couple of years. But that’s not all. As part of the agreement, Max Mosely will not stand for re-election of his position this fall.
While I’m sure that certain track promoters are disappointed today, this resolution is probably the best case scenario for everyone. F1 stays intact, and Max is out the door.
UK Whitney Gazette: Formula One row settled
Here is an official statement from the FIA.
FIA STATEMENT 6/24/2009
All currently competing teams have committed to the FIA Formula One World Championship.
There will be no alternative series or Championship and the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April 2009.
As part of this agreement, the teams will, within two years, reduce the costs of competing in the Championship to the level of the early 1990s. The manufacturer teams have agreed to assist the new entries for 2010 by providing technical assistance.
The manufacturer teams have further agreed to the permanent and continuing role of the FIA as the sport’s governing body. They have also committed to the commercial arrangements for the FIA Formula One World Championship until 2012 and have agreed to renegotiate and extend this contract before the end of that period.
All teams will adhere to an upgraded version of the governance provisions of the 1998 Concorde Agreement.
The following teams have been accepted for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Team (Constructor)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro (Ferrari)
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (McLaren Mercedes)
BMW Sauber F1 Team (BMW Sauber)
Renault F1 Team (Renault)
Panasonic Toyota Racing (Toyota)
Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR TBA)
Red Bull Racing (RBR TBA)
AT&T Williams (Williams Toyota)
Force India F1 Team (Force India Mercedes)
Brawn GP Formula One Team (Brawn TBA)
Campos Meta Team (Campos Cosworth)
Manor Grand Prix (Manor Cosworth)
Team US F1 (Team US F1 Cosworth)
In view of this new agreement and with the prospect of a stable future for Formula One, FIA President Max Mosley has confirmed his decision not to stand for re-election in October this year.
Sebastian Vettel broke the monotony of Jensen Button winning everything by winning in a monotonous way at Silverstone. Vettel dominated the field in what is possibly the last F1 race at Silverstone.
Brawn still put together a good weekend with Barrichello finishing third, and Button sixth, but the results were a let down. Button hoped to put an exclamation point on the first half of the season by winning in his homeland.
Lewis Hamilton’s disasterous season continued on Sunday with a 16th place finish in the McLaren after winning there in 2008. It’s going to be a long summer for the champ.
Mark Webber had a fantastic weekend, and is poised to win a race sometime this season. Webber had a shot at the pole, and finished second to give Red Bull a 1-2 finish.
The fact is that the entire weekend’s was overshadowed by the politics, and the looming split of the FOTA teams from F1.
Skysports: Vettel end Button’s run
Sebastian Vettel took his second pole in a row at Silverstone today with a lap of 1:19.509. Vettel beat out the Brawn of Rbens Barrichello by three tenths. Red Bull is looking strong this weekend with Vettel on pole, and with Mark Webber qualifying third.
Mark Webber was pretty upset in post-race interviews. He could have nipped Barrichello or even had a shot at the pole, but claimed that Kimi Raikkonen hampered his lap. Webber said:
“I would have liked a slightly cleaner run on my last Q3 lap. Kimi was, uh, I don’t know, drinking some vodka or deaming or something. I didn’t know what the hell he was doing, but he should have been on the right and he’s on the racing line and dreaming. So that, uh, wrecked my lap.”
Ouch. Webber’s not happy with the Fin.
But he’s over the moon compared to Lewis Hamilton who will start from the back row after qualifying 19th. The world champ is fighting a bad car, and on the Speed TV broadcast this morning, he seemed to have written off the rest of the season.
The UK Telegraph has more on Vettel’s big day, and Hamilton’s woes.
STARTING GRID
Pos Driver
1 Sebastian Vettel
2 Rubens Barrichello
3 Mark Webber
4 Jarno Trulli
5 Kazuki Nakajima
6 Jenson Button
7 Nico Rosberg
8 Timo Glock
9 Kimi Raikkonen
10 Fernando Alonso
11 Felipe Massa
12 Robert Kubica
13 Heikki Kovalainen
14 Nelson A. Piquet
15 Nick Heidfeld
16 Giancarlo Fisichella
17 Sebastien Bourdais
18 Adrian Sutil
19 Lewis Hamilton
20 Sebastien Buemi
You knew this was coming, but they sure wasted no time. Max is threatening to sue now.
The Canadian Press reports:
“The FIA’s lawyers have now examined the FOTA threat to begin a breakaway series,” the organization said in a statement. “The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including willful 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.”
Canadian Press: FIA plans legal action against FOTA
Imagine the tension in the paddock at Silverstone this weekend.
Either hell just froze over, or the end is nigh. The unfathomable, the unreal, the unbelievable, the insane, has happened. Just as the open-wheel racing split of the 20th century has come and gone, the 21st century open-wheel split has begun. Articles all over the web are rocking the autosports world with news that a Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso have all declined to enter the Formula 1 World Championship for 2010.
Today was the day of reckoning for Bernie and Max, and things certainly did not go their way. The elite teams that really *are* Formula 1, announced that their team assocation will be forming a new series in 2010.
These eight teams make up the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) which released a statement just hours ago that included:
“It has become clear, however, 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.”
Sky News has more: F1 - Eight teams to form rival championship
BBC Sport has more of the FOTA statement: Ft teams drop breakaway bombshell
Keith Collantine at the F1 Fanatic blog has his take on the situation. His headline: “F1 to split in two as FOTA teams announce their own championship”. I’m not exactly sure the headline really captures the devastation of today’s developments. This isn’t a “breaking in half”. This is *the* elite teams of F1 ripping away and leaving nothing but a few backmarker teams. One half is Mt. Everest, the other is mole hill.
Fan and media reaction is going to be interesting, to say the least.
D-Day has was supposed to have happened today in the world of F1, but seems to have been pushed back to June 19th. So the drama continues as the world waits to find out who is going to be in F1 next season. Max and Co. said that McLaren, Sauber, Renault, Brawn, and Toyota have conditional entries, but Ferrari and Toro Rosso were quick to put the smack-down on Max and say that they have conditional entries as well.
These teams have demanded that the spending limits for the 2010 season be removed, and have placed entries based on that condition. Max has demanded that these conditions be removed by the 19th.
Here we go again.
One interesting development after today’s FIA meetings was the announcement of three new provisional teams for 2010:
*Campos Grand Prix
*Manor Grand Prix
*Team US F1
Reuters India has a snapshot of each of the new teams.
REUTERS: Formula One’s new teams for 2010
