Mosley and the Provisional Entry 01/06/2009 And then there were five. Or maybe six, or even seven, depending upon which source you decide to believe. General consensus is that USF1, Prodrive, Lola and Campos have registered for F1 in 2010, thereby accepting Mosley's budget cap rules. Add to these Williams, known to have signed on since that was the reason for its suspension from FOTA, and a surprise entrant in the form of Superfund, led by my old friend, Alex Wurz, and we have six likely entrants for next year.Alex WurzLitespeed has been mentioned in some quarters but not by any of the more reliable sources, so I regard it as suspect at the moment. Even if we take it at face value, that gives Mosley seven uncontested teams for the 2010 grid. That would be fourteen cars and Williams would return to its great days of teaching the others a lesson in winning championships.Alianora and now Pitpass have pointed out that the FOTA entry may be invalid and is at risk of being thrown out by Mosley, therefore. Whether he would do this is debatable, however, as it would leave him with a greatly reduced series with merely a ghost of its former drawing power. Without the viewers, income would plummet and then Bernie would be incensed.But, if the entry is accepted, the provisos must surely kick in or the nine teams would pack up and leave and Max would have achieved nothing through his lenient view on their entry. A couple of them, probably Force India and Brawn GP, could be persuaded to stay, perhaps, and that would boost the field to eighteen cars, at the same time spoiling Williams' party. The absence of the big names would still cause a huge dent in the sport's following, however.Much is being made of Ferrari's contractual obligation to compete until 2012 but I think this gives too much credit to an agreement broken by both sides on several occasions. If Ferrari decide to withdraw, they will do so and let Mosley take whatever legal action he thinks he can succeed in. Without Ferrari in the sport, the FIA's income is going to be severely curtailed anyway and there will not be much left over for legal fees.It seems to me that Max must either talk to FOTA in a genuine attempt to reach a compromise acceptable to all or he will convert F1 into a series no longer recognized as the most popular and technically advanced form of motor sport. The really silly thing is that, in his public statements, Mosley has already given way in many of the areas highlighted by the FOTA provisional entry and agreement could be reached quite easily as a result - yet it is quite likely that Max will be so enraged by the challenge to his power that he could refuse to discuss things and take F1 on a course of self destruction. And that, surely, is enough proof that the government of the sport needs re-structuring; it is madness that one man should have the power to make or break F1.I have to hope that Mosley sees reason and seeks compromise with the FOTA teams. A product of that will be a new Concorde Agreement and that will go some way to limiting Mosley's powers. With a reasonable glide path to cost cuts established and regulations no longer subject to the whims of the moment, the sport could look forward to many more healthy years.Some of the new teams might find themselves out in the cold as a result, either through missing the FIA cut or being unable to meet the financial demands of a sport not limited to £40 million, but the grid would be full again and would contain all the familiar and famous faces of the sport. That has to be the best way forward, doesn't it?
Clive
Haplo How about your guy? The italian one?Now what we have here, a wonderful series... Superfund, Mario Kart Racing, Cheerios Ford, SuperF1 and Martinez Tires have all entered withing the deadline. I'm sure fans all over the world are absolutely expectant.BTW, Superfund has been in F1 before, can't remember what they supplied or did, but I'm sure I've heard the name back in the early 90's. Date Added: 01/06/2009
Haplo Oh no, that was Fondmetal! But I've heard Superfund also... Date Added: 01/06/2009
Clive Haplo: Well, much depends on how Luca plays it, of course. I think he'll stick with FOTA this time, considering that he's the driving force behind it.Superfund has been in F1 before but only as sponsors - this is the first time they have entered a team. They're a financial institution and Alex reckons they should have no money worries as a result. Date Added: 01/06/2009
Steven Roy Believe it or not one site is reporting that an entry has been received from March Engineering. I didn't even know they were still in business.I think someone at the FIA is picking racing team names at random and suggesting that they will or have entered F1 Date Added: 01/06/2009
Clive Steven: Maybe it's a game the whole family can enjoy: Name Your Own Mythical F1 Team! Someone should tell Max that it really doesn't matter - no matter how many dubious teams he adds to the list, it just won't be F1 with all the FOTA teams missing. Date Added: 01/06/2009
aracerdude I imagine with today's announcement of GM's bankruptcy, they will NOT be submitting an entry. Date Added: 01/06/2009
Clive Aracer: I don't suppose F1 is high on GM's agenda at the moment (not that it ever has been). And I guess we won't see Chrysler involved either... Date Added: 01/06/2009
donwatters So, Clive, how long before our pal Max responds? Date Added: 01/06/2009
Björn Svensson Just a little reminder, and just to make myself look a little silly after what i said yesterday.Do you remember what we said shen Toyota and BMW was about to enter F1?.................."This is going to be the end of F1, it is going to be increasingly expensive since the big companys don't have the limits in funds as the smaller teams have".I think this is what have happened now, and to add salt to the wounds, the big boys have also gained a substatial amount of power since they are the once with the money.They own some of the racetracks, they suply alot of the smaller teams with engines, they have a lot more legal staff than the small teams can aford. This makes F1 of today an increasingly harder business to compete in.After to have been thinking of this and that, i do think that some of the stuff that is happening might make F1 become a better place to compete, even if the cap Max have talked about seem to be much too low to keep the competitive edge in todays F1. And some of the rulechanges that was imposed onto the current season, like the testing ban, makes it just too hard for the teams to make their cars good.This might give more credit to the once who have spent a fortune on this seasons car, but you are not in F1 just to compete in every second year, you must have the possibility to improve your car over the season. And the raceweekends should not be just another round of trial and error for the teams. Raceweekends are where you should show what you have accomplished through hard work, blood, sweat and tears.To make F1 become an interesting series again, theres so much that need improvement, that i think were soon at the point where we can no longer call it F1 anymore. It will soon need to be renamed and regulated under a new set of rules written from the ground up an having a ner board and bodie guarding them. Date Added: 01/06/2009
Clive Don: Who knows? On 12 June the list of teams accepted by the FIA will be published, which is why FOTA chose it as their deadline too, I guess. Max might have something to say before then but could just as easily let it ride. We can be sure he is thinking about his next move, however. Date Added: 01/06/2009
Clive Björn: It's true that we all had doubts about the participation of the manufacturers at first. I can remember writing articles pointing out that they could not be relied upon since they tend to depart the sport when things are not going their way.But we have become accustomed to their teams being a necessary part of F1, especially now that so many independents have given up. And it is the mass withdrawal that threatens the existence of the sport - a slow departure by one team after another would be much easier to cope with.Ultimately, it could well be better for F1 is it were to return to a sport for privateers with manufacturers supplying engines only. That position should be reached by gradual evolution, not sudden revolution, however, if we are not to risk destroying F1 as a championship worth watching. Forcing the issue, as Max seems to be doing, is not good for the sport, apart from the fact that, as long as he remains in charge, the rules change from one moment to the next and the future seems a matter of standardized parts and limited competition. Date Added: 01/06/2009
Pink Peril Well, I can assure you I am not going to spend $800 on tickets to the Melbourne GP to watch Lola, March, USF1, Superfund and the like twirl round the track. Nor will I be flying to Malaysia as planned to watch them all again a week later, and spending a couple of thousand in the process. Not at all. F1 is what is because of the teams and drivers participating. Exclude them, and you end up with a series that is a shadow of its former self. I doubt I'll be watching. Bernie better work his magic on S&Max this time, or its curtains for him & CVC, as well as the series. Anyone else you'd assume would be reasonable and work out a compromise, but just never know with S&Max. Date Added: 02/06/2009
Alianora La Canta I reckon Max will respond on June 12, unless circumstances force him to say something sooner.At the moment, it looks like all the "paper tiger" teams will get entries unless one of them has filled in the paperwork wrong or something. The FOTA teams will then be forced to join on Max's terms or not at all. Force India, like Ferrari and Williams, signed a contract with Bernie in 2005 to be in F1 until 2012 (note that the FIA, having broken its side of the contract, cannot depend on the teams following their side of the deal). I can thus see it being forced to compete against its intention to be with FOTA.The other teams are another matter. This will prompt boards all over the place to withdraw from F1 in disgust. The focus has been on the manufacturers, but what happens if, say, the Red Bull board declares F1 no longer fit for purpose? What if the UB board gets fed up of spending lots of money on a self-destructing blancmange of a business and says it wants to concentrate on the cricket? In those cases, Dietrich and Vijay (both pro-F1 themselves) could be forced to sell their teams to paper tigers and withdraw. Also, what if RBS sees all this, decides the future of the F1 company is unsafe and pulls in the debt? F1 collapses completely and Max and Bernie finds themselves with no series at all. This is the elephant in the room - too much uncertainty and the series will collapse even if no actual harmful actions are taken. If more people are thinking like Pink Peril, then the Royal Bank of Scotland has to take that into account when deciding whether the loan is still viable or whether it should cut its losses. Date Added: 03/06/2009
Clive What it all amounts to is that Max is taking a huge risk with the future of F1. Considering how close the various parties are to agreement, it would be sheer madness for Mosley to assert his powers and insist on things going his way. The threat to CVC's income alone should be enough for Bernie to rein in his monster - but I'm not sure he can do it this time.It is being reported that FOTA are essentially challenging the FIA for the power to write regulations but that is not so. They want to go back to the 2009 regs and then introduce changes by consensus, not dictatorial whim. As the ones who will have to cope with the effects of new rules, it is only reasonable that they should have a say in their framing. Date Added: 03/06/2009
Lee @AlianoraI was under the impression that if one side brakes a contract agreement then the whole agreement can then be declared void by the other party. Also if this happens and it is indeed deemed that the FIA broke its agreements then it would leave the door open for Ferrari to sue for damages. Also bearing in mind that a contract has to be fair and reasonable if Max has put any clauses to provide the ability for the FIA to break their side while the other side is still bound then I would be certain that the contract would be declared void by the courts. Date Added: 03/06/2009
Alianora La Canta Lee, Ferrari is already on the path to suing the FIA for breach of contract, but in the meantime, the racing continues. This is because ultimately, Ferrari doesn't want to leave F1 or even to fight its administrators - it just wants F1 to work.Legally speaking, the FOTA teams would have been in their right to reject the 2009 regulations currently in use as well and instead use the version agreed on 17 December 2008. Again, it points to the teams wanting F1 to work as a sporting series and Max seeing it as a mere psuedopolitical power-play. Date Added: 03/06/2009
michael Hello Clive,I would like to play the pink elephant in the room now and ask all of you: What if Max, Bernie and Ferrari have come up with an idea to reshape F1 completely? Doing so, even if it meant that teams such as McLaren would fade away? What if all this FIA anti-pasta bashing is merely a simple ploy handing Ferrari the reigns over the teams - FOTA - so as to heard them right down the stairs and straight through the trap door? What if this is a shanking of F1 as we have come to know it for the past twenty odd years? What if we wake up on the 13th of June and have to realize Ferrari are the last ones left standing? all the best Date Added: 03/06/2009
Clive Anything is possible, Michael. In the end, each team owner has to decide for himself who he will trust and make alliances with. And so far they all (including Williams) have shown considerable faith in Montezemolo's leadership. One can only hope that they are right. Date Added: 03/06/2009
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