Fia accuse Fota of sabitage

[blacktulip]

From ITV Sport


The FIA has accused a hardline faction within the Formula One Teams’ Association of deliberately preventing a resolution to the row over rules and governance that has engulfed F1.

The governing body claims an agreement with the teams’ alliance was within reach following a “very constructive” meeting with five FOTA members last Thursday – but is now threatened by an irreconcilable element intent on keeping the two sides apart.

“Last Thursday, the president of the FIA met a delegation from FOTA consisting of Ross Brawn (Brawn GP), Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari), Christian Horner (Red Bull), John Howett (Toyota) and Simone Perillo (FOTA),” the FIA said in a statement.

“The FIA believed it had participated in a very constructive meeting with a large measure of agreement.

“The FIA was therefore astonished to learn that certain FOTA members not present at the meeting have falsely claimed that nothing was agreed and that the meeting had been a waste of time.

“There is clearly an element in FOTA which is determined to prevent any agreement being reached regardless of the damage this may cause to the sport.”


The 11th-hour talks failed to produce a deal that would have allowed all the current teams to sign up to next year’s championship willingly and unconditionally, and the entry list subsequently published by the governing body irked FOTA by splitting its members into two groups.

The teams’ body appealed over the head of FIA president Max Mosley in a letter to the governing body’s World Council and Senate urging them to intervene to help resolve the dispute.

Later on Friday the car manufacturers involved in F1 called for the sport’s governance to be overhauled and implied that they would set up a breakaway series if they did not get satisfaction.

But the FIA now claims that the outline of a compromise deal was reached at last Thursday’s meeting and that the subsequent hardening of FOTA’s rhetoric has been driven by an obstructionist faction.

“During the meeting FOTA acknowledged that the FIA wanted to encourage the introduction of new teams in the championship to maintain its vitality and economic viability in the long term,” the FIA said.

“Agreement was reached on technical regulations for 2010 which offered assistance for new teams from the currently competing teams in several key areas.

“It was also agreed that the objectives of FOTA and the FIA on cost reduction were now very close and that financial experts from both sides should meet at the earliest opportunity to finalise the details.

“It was proposed by the FIA that any perceived governance and stability issues could best be eliminated by extending the 1998 Concorde Agreement until 2014, thus avoiding lengthy negotiations for a new agreement.

“This was well received by those present who undertook to report the suggestion to the other FOTA members.”

FOTA said last Friday that it would shortly produce a dossier setting out detailed objections to what it called “the new arbitrary FIA proposals”.

The governing body has responded by saying it will publish its own version of events: “The FIA will publish shortly a detailed and documented account of the facts in its dealings with FOTA.”

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The FIA has expressed surprise at the hostility to the way it is running Formula 1 from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) – insisting its cost-cutting agenda chimes with the needs of Europe’s recession-battered car industry.

The ACEA, whose members include all the carmakers involved in F1, intervened in the F1 rules dispute last Friday, backing FOTA’s demand for an overhaul of the sport’s governance and threatening to set up a breakaway series if its calls were not heeded.

The FIA has responded by saying it doesn’t understand the manufacturers’ opposition to its cost-cutting initiatives, given that these would enable them to redirect spending to their core activities.

“The FIA is surprised that the European car manufacturers' association ACEA should have rejected the FIA's endeavours to reduce costs in Formula 1,” the governing body said in a statement.

[blacktulip]

Virgin Media report
Ross Brawn is "completely confident" his team will be competing in Formula One next season.

Brawn GP were told by motor sport's world governing body, the FIA, on Friday they must submit an unconditional entry by this Friday if they want to compete in next year's world championship.

McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault and Toyota are in the same position, leaving a cloud hanging over the sport going into this weekend's British Grand Prix.

There remain issues between the Formula One Teams' Association and the FIA, in particular over governance as well as the logistics of policing what Brawn describes as 'resource control' rather than a budget cap.

However, as F1 is Brawn GP's only means of business, in comparison to BMW, Renault and Toyota who compete in other motor sports and have road car divisions, it would appear imperative the impasse is resolved this week.

"I hope it will be," remarked Brawn. "Although I'm not sure it will mean we are out of business by the end of the week. I don't think it's at that level.

"But FOTA have been supportive of Brawn GP, and the reason we are in Formula One is because of the support we received, particularly from McLaren and Mercedes, and offers of help from Ferrari.

"So we want to support the group in trying to find a solution. We, as small independents, balance up the group with the manufacturers and they want to support the small independents.

"So we've stayed together as a group, and we can present a balanced approach on what needs to be done. It's not a manufacturers' association, it's the Formula One Teams' Association. That's why we are staying with FOTA.

"We believe in the principals of FOTA, and that as part of FOTA we can be influential in finding the right solutions."

Brawn has today confirmed his team have already spent the past few weeks working on next year's F1 car, suggesting they will be around from 2010.

"I'm completely confident (we will be in F1 next season), and you have to plan on that," asserted Brawn. "There's nothing else to plan for. We cannot allow this row to be a distraction to our engineering and racing plans.

"I'm not supporting a breakaway championship, but if there was one, then it would be one with cars similar to what we are working on now, which will be without re-fuelling."

A meeting of the Financial Working Group and the FIA is due to take place today to address the outstanding issues surrounding the voluntary £40million budget cap.

There will also be a number of other meetings this week as FOTA and the FIA try to find a way forward with regard to governance, ultimately president Max Mosley's dictatorial leadership.

"All of us - and I mean this collectively - have got ourselves into a situation we need to learn from," remarked Brawn.

"What we want to get back and put in place again is an agreement between the teams and the FIA on governance for the future, and how we can avoid these situations ever occurring again.

[blacktulip]

The FIA has accused the Formula One Teams’ Association of attempting to seize control of Formula 1 and says it will not stand by and let that happen.

With the row over cost-cutting and F1’s governance escalating once again, and the latest round of talks on Monday getting nowhere, the FIA and FOTA are now engaged in a public tit-for-tat over their respective agendas and motives.

In a press statement on Tuesday giving a detailed account of its dealings with FOTA, the governing body claimed the teams’ alliance was seeking to neuter it and “expropriate” the sport’s commercial rights.

“The FIA and FOM have together spent decades building the FIA Formula One World Championship into the most watched motor sport competition in history,” the statement said.

“In light of the success of the FIA’s Championship, FOTA – made up of participants who come and go as it suits them – has set itself two clear objectives: to take over the regulation of Formula One from the FIA and to expropriate the commercial rights for itself.

“These are not objectives which the FIA can accept.”

In support of its claims about FOTA’s agenda the FIA cited the conditions the members of the teams’ organisation attached to their 2010 entries, which it said would strip the governing body of its established prerogatives.

“Among the conditions were a requirement that the FIA forthwith sign FOTA’s new Concorde Agreement (which diluted the Sporting Code, made an outside body, the CAS, the ultimate appeal court, allowed any team to veto rule changes and removed the FIA's right to insist on changes if the cars became dangerously fast),” the FIA said.

“FOTA also crossed out references to the International Sporting Code on their entry forms and wanted the 2010 rules rescinded notwithstanding that a number of new teams had already submitted entries.”



The FIA statement began by rehearsing arguments for the budget cap, which it insisted was the only practical means of containing costs while retaining F1’s technological appeal, and would level the playing field by putting the emphasis on ingenuity rather than money.

The governing body then set out the background to its decision to introduce a budget cap, which was first approved by the World Motor Sport Council on 17 March – arguing that Honda’s sudden withdrawal at the end of last year and the advent of the global recession necessitated an urgent response.

The FIA said assurances from Ferrari president and FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo that the manufacturers would guarantee their participation in F1 for 2010 never materialised, leaving it with no choice but to take decisive action.

“Mr di Montezemolo promised to secure the necessary guarantees from the main car manufacturing companies (not to be confused with guarantees from the teams),” the statement said.

“He continued to promise this all through the winter, most recently at a meeting he had with the FIA’s president on 23 February 2009.

“Not one such letter has been forthcoming – not even from Mr di Montezemolo's own company FIAT.”

The FIA said that while Ferrari voted against the budget cap proposal at the 17 March WMSC meeting, it did not object to special technical freedoms being granted to new teams – “ie Ferrari did not vote against the ‘two-tier’ system”.

It added that Ferrari did vote against its proposals at the 29 April WMSC meeting which rubber-stamped the 2010 rules, but offered “no reasons or alternative”.

And it said FOTA vice-chairman John Howett tried unsuccessfully to lead a walkout when the issue of financial regulation was raised at a meeting in Heathrow on May 15 – by which time “it was clear that FOTA had no intention of negotiating anything but simply expected the FIA to agree to all its demands”.

[kati]

the fota - fia thing went from a reasonable complain to an ego fight. max doesn't wanna lose it or give them partial approval because he is totally into hierarchy, and he thinks fia should be able to have the power over every single thing related to motorsports. and for him he IS fia, whereas the point would be him representing the interest of all associates and everyone else. and for fota, they came from a true complain to the will to challenge fia, that they've have had for a while already. it's long we hear flavio and his friends saying fota should have more power over formula one, and now with ferrari along they finally can try to get it. i didn't believe in a second series and i do not want to believe it still. it'd probably end up in two failures. but i can tell you it's going quite far. if i was to choose, id say fota is right about the first budget complain, but if max insists in not letting it happen, and no one takes him off power, the 2010 rules will remain same as published. there's too much thing to lose in creating a new series, so one by one the teams may drop, like williams and force india already did, and well should be then a fight between ferrari and fia only.

[seabassfan]

this on-going fight between FIA and FOTA really breaks me up. these 2 cry-baby associations should be locked in a room- together- until they come up with a solution saticfying to all parties. the possibility of 2 f1 series reminds me of the INDYCAR/CHAMPAR breakup of the IRL. It was interesting, for a while, to watch racing in 2 different racing associations. however- after a bit of time- fans went with their favorite drivers/teams. This (eventually) lead to a vast decrease in viewership for both divisions, with CHAMPCAR finally declaring bankruptcy at the end of last season. This is definately what will happen if the FIA and FOTA don't get their differences straightened out quickly. Lastly- if they did split- who would I watch? Which league would I like to see a few stars with many wannabe's? Neither! Maybe if they don't get an agreement finalized by Germany, they should cancel the rest of the season and then (maybe) they might actually take these differences/problems as seriously as they should be taken!! especially since "Herr maxie" and his "mini-me" Bernie have no intention of giving up the FIA and FOM voluntarily.