I suppose it is only to be expected that a lawyer's first reaction to being crossed is to threaten legal action. We have seen Mosley spray threats of lawsuits at those he dislikes before and so the FIA's announcement of legal action to counter FOTA's intended breakaway series comes as no surprise. What we should remember, however, is that beginning an action and actually going to court are two different things; Martin Brundle can testify to this, thanks to Max's threat to sue the journalist that resulted in nothing much at all.
Kazuki Nakajima, fourth fastest in second practice for the British GP
Mosley's hasty rejoinder to FOTA's plans can be taken as his usual knee-jerk reaction therefore. He has a meeting with the WMSC on Monday to get through first and there is also the matter of whether the FIA can afford the latest rash of lawsuits that Max so happily brandishes at his opponents. Anyone who heard SpeedTV's interview with Toyota's John Howett prior to Practice in Silverstone today knows that bullying is not going to deter the teams this time.
I did find it amusing that Mosley should accuse FOTA of "a grave violation of competition law" however. He should know all about that, the European Union having had cause to rap the the FIA over the knuckles for exactly that offense in the past. The contracts between the FIA and Ferrari/Red Bull may be subject to legal debate but hey, if someone doesn't want to play in your backyard, there is nothing that can prevent him taking his ball away.
The true weakness in Mosley's statement is revealed in its last sentence:
Preparations for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship continue but publication of the final 2010 entry list will be put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights.
So the teams that expect to race in F1 next year will have to wait for the verdict of the court before they can be certain that they are in or out. That could take a while yet.
I suspect that these are just Mosley's last floundering attempts to stay in charge, anyway. It no longer matters what he says or does, the facts are these:
The FIA has been left with an F1 series that is hardly a shadow of its former glory, comprising as it does of Williams, Force India, three new teams and a shrinking reserve list. Even in the unlikely event that the FIA win all the threatened lawsuits, this cannot persuade the FOTA teams to participate, doubly annoyed as they would be by any penalties handed out by the courts. Meanwhile FOTA's announcement has produced a huge response of approval from the fans and a clear interest from circuit owners and teams who have experienced Max and Bernie's high-handed methods in the past. No prizes for guessing which series would be the more viable come March next year.
It is obvious now to everyone except Max: Max is the problem and Max has to go. Since he has proved incapable of yielding to reason on the real concerns of the teams, nothing less than his resignation will do this time. If the FIA cannot see that, the organization deserves all that is coming to it.
Oh yes, there were also two qualifying sessions at Silverstone today. They proved to be the usual guessing game apart from the fact that Red Bull are looking very, very good on this track. Vettel topped the time sheets in both sessions with his team mate mere hundredths of a second behind him. But it is tomorrow's Qualifying that will show us the true pace of the other teams. Business as usual therefore.