F1 in crisis - The eight elite teams of FOTA to form new series in 2010
Written by Scott Keller · June 19, 2009
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.
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A giant bluff? An attempt to force the destruction of Max & Bernie’s hold on the sport? I still think that FOTA will stay, but only with the unconditional surrender of Max as head of the FIA (& a restructure of it’s powers) & a massive reduction, if not removal, of Bernie’s influence.
The next 7 days is going to be interesting.
Max & Bernie off with their heads!….. after a spanking in Max’s case.
Well the unspeakable has happened.
Problem is FIA has everything in place but FOTA would have to start from scratch and I don’t see how that can happen.
I know you never thought a split would happen, Peter, and maybe you might be right but this high stakes poker game just saw “all in”. Who folds?
And no spanking for Max, he’d enjoy that.
Peter, this whole situation is surreal. If this is a bluff, this is the mother of all bluffs. This is going to be a weird weekend.
It seems to me that FIA wants to penalize Ferrari and McLaren for past disagreements!
They declared the adaptive ’splitter’ design un-acceptable when questioned before the season than allowed it when teams they favor showed up with it to their advantage.
They penalize the most exiting races to the drivers championship ever seen each of the past three years with rules that bring a boring back marker to the for-front weeks after team abandonment by Honda.
I watch F1 for the same reason I do not watch Indy cars. Technology!
If I wanted to watch inferior cars I’ll watch formula 3!
The answer - either FIA gives in or the sponsors will decide which series wins.
My vote is for unlimited spending driving the most advanced race cars. If you can’t keep up, go race in the Indy car league!
Doug
Scumbag Max is back peddling as fast as he can:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76332
Typical Max ploy, threaten them with legal actions then say everything will work out.
Everything CAN work out for 2010 as soon as Max tucks tail and runs. We know he’s incapable of that, so the WMSC will have to toss him out on his well whipped ass, for “conduct detrimental to the sport.” And before the door slams him in the ass please ask him to personally refund the $100 million he extorted from McLaren over Spygate. He has at least that much from the kickbacks Bernie has given over the years.
Nicely written piece Scott. I knew there was a reason why I could retire from posting articles!
And not only is he back peddling, the personal attacks have begun:
http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3213_5390260,00.html
Flavio as the next Bernie? As a business partner of Bernie’s (a soccer club, I believe) Flavio may be the ONLY ally Bernie has in FOTA. This may be a further indicator that Bernie is attempting a settlement with the FOTA boys, the outcome of which would be a joint call for Max’s head as a condition for their return to the F1 fold.
The WMSC will have no choice but to sack the fascist bastard. I believe they meet within a week or two.
Max says he won’t go:
“Well, the first thing they have to do is get rid of me, but then whoever replaced me would be exactly the same - he would defend the interests of the FIA because the championship belongs to them. So, unless they found somebody who was prepared to let it all go, it wouldn’t work. If I dropped dead tomorrow there would be somebody taking exactly the same position.”
From: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76337
His assumption that his successor could be as arrogant and fascist as he is is the misstatement of the decade. And this entire crises has been self generated by Max to give him the premise he needs to stay on. And on, and on and……..
Careful of the words you choose Max, especially that last line; someone may test that premise and assist you into the afterlife.
Both sides need to understand they’re both worse off without each other. Ego’s prevail right now but once realization hits that sponsors (money) and fans along with potentially their livelihoods are in the balance, then some sort of agreement will happen.
If they can rid themselves of Maxine the spanker, the better they’ll all be regardless.
Max is losing it, his desperation is showing. Calling people loonies is hardly becoming of an FIA president……….but then this Max “Spanky” Mosley.
I’m begining to think that Max may not see out the year, those spineless pricks at the FIA ,who prop him up, must now realise he is a dead man walking & their own cushy jobs are on the line.
Ron Dennis must be grinning from ear to ear, his old enemy is getting a kicking & may not leave F1 on his own terms. It is high time that Max is shown the door, how fitting that he is on the coals at the BRDC’s Silverstone.
Death to Tyrants!
[...] (DVR), so, under penalty of death, don’t tell me about it. Anyway, has everyone heard about this? F1 in crisis - The eight elite teams of FOTA to form new series in 2010 - FastMachines.com I personally think it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy than Bernie. [...]