By Adrian Musolino
June 28th 2009 @ 3:54am
Where to now for Formula 1 GP?
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany leads the field into turn one at the start of the British Formula One Grand Prix at the Silverstone racetrack, in Silverstone, England, Sunday, June 21 2009. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
So Formula 1 is at peace, or so it seems. The breakaway threat lasted all of a week. The manufacturers have signed on and there will be only one series. But the same old hostilities are still bubbling away and it appears to be a very tenuous peace.
The compromise deal made sense for all. Max Mosley leaving his post in October was crucial to the compromise with FOTA as they could simply not work together.
Had Formula 1 finally applied some common sense to its dealings?
The peace didn’t last long.
Mosley, unhappy at being portrayed as a dictator and appearing to be pushed out, has threatened to reconsider his decision.
Like schoolboys arguing over who won an after school fight, this latest pickle is as childish as it gets.
To think this whole deal, made to save F1, could be scuppered by hurt feelings and how they are portraying one another to the media is perhaps the best indicator of how deluded they have truly become.
In the past week Formula 1 has been dragged through the mud in headlines across the globe.
How much more damage can be done for the sake of egos?
Last week eminent Formula 1 journalist Peter Windsor, on the Channel 10 coverage of the British Grand Prix, asked Red Bull team manager Chris Horner, if the breakaway happens, was he not concerned about leaving the heritage of the FIA Formula 1 series?
What heritage?
Classic venues have been dropped, the likes of the Canadian, French etc, iconic races that contributed much to the Formula 1 story.
The heritage remaining lies with the teams and their contribution to the sport.
Therefore the manufacturers have the power, as long as they stay united.
As Horner responded, would the same numbers watch the EPL if it wasn’t for the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and co?
Assuming the deal stands, there are still many questions left unanswered.
How will Mosley’s successor be welcomed into the Formula 1 paddock and will it really result in a more diplomatic FIA?
And what of the commercial side of the sport and more importantly, for us at least, the sports strenuous relationship with its fans?
They need to start getting something back.
Grandstand tickets are ludicrously overpriced, access to drivers, while improving, is still limited and the show the sport puts on on-track is not good, ignoring the off-track soap opera that rivals anything Neighbours can dish up.
Even the FOTA back down has raised the ire of some fans that thought this was the prime opportunity for the sport to start righting its wrongs, to start again from scratch on stronger foundations.
They were promised transparency, accountability, more equality in regulations, better racing and better television and Internet coverage.
FOTA should not stop working towards this goal despite the fact a deal has been done.
Encouragingly Flavio Briatore, the worldliest of F1 team bosses, will work in closer association with the commercial arm of the sport and he will be pushing Ecclestone for a greater share of the F1 revenue, over half of which leaves the sport.
But what emerges out of this deal remains to be seen and the fact is this peace is tenuous.
There are three distinct yet interrelated powers in Formula 1 at present.
They are the governing body, the FIA, the commercial rights holders, Formula 1 Management (FOM) led by Bernie Ecclestone and the manufacturers, united under the FOTA umbrella.
These are three distinct organisations, all with their own agendas, in a sport trying to balance the interests of manufacturers, teams, corporations, banks and fans.
Is it any wonder the sport is in a constant state of chaos?
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autogyro said | June 28th 2009 @ 7:09am | Report comment
Strange that you believe that the manufacturers are united under Fota. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Fota is supposed to be the flagship organisation with the interests of both the big teams and the small teams.
Instead it is simply a band wagon for a tiny Italian aristocrat who believes that Ferrari and Fiat should dominate a sport which has had it’s center in England for 60 years.
The only reason for the crisis is that Ferrari and some other big teams cannot win with regulations designed to drag F1 kicking and screaming into the 21st century, without spending huge amounts of money taken from tax payers and bail outs.
The suggested regulations from Luca whatsis name are not only puerile but will not justify F1 in the eyes of the world public into the future. IC engines are all but obsolete and the motoring press should start being responsible and work towards energy efficiency. If it does not F1 will not last for much longer.
Martin said | June 28th 2009 @ 11:07am | Report comment
The problem with the “settlement” is that it left Mosley with nothing to lose. He was seen as having had to backtrack on his enforced changes and as having been forced out of his role with F1.
So now he is acting like a man with nothing to lose – and everything to gain. In fact his actions only go to support the term “dictator”. They are similar to the actions we would expect of Robert Mugabe after a similar agreement (vote) requiring he step aside.
Max now has the option of being head-honcho as an F1 comprised of new teams, or a nobody. An easy choice in his mind.
Obviously Luca Di Montezemelo is no more skilled at PR than my 15 year-old daughter as his crowing would best have been left to a post-season review session.
And for people who want a cost-controlled, narrow-spec, standard-part formula – there is no need to wait. There are many such series already. GO AWAY and watch one.
Adrian Musolino said | June 28th 2009 @ 7:57pm | Report comment
autogyro, you make an interesting point. Where I think this crisis is different to other F1 controversies, and why the breakaway threat was so real, is due to the fact that the likes of Ferrari and McLaren are buried down in the pack, unjustly according to them. With a salary cap, how could they use their superior spending power to claw back the advantage they believe they should have?
Martin, fair call. I also agree with the comment re: a spec series. This is what should differentiate F1 from other series. There are so many ways in which F1 can cut costs but the teams and the FIA have been very inactive over the years in this regard and now the FIA, who didn’t seem to mind the huge escalation in costs when the manufacturers were coming into the sport, don’t seem to know how to do it so they are resorting to draconian rules like budget caps.
nytewynd said | June 29th 2009 @ 2:30am | Report comment
Of course, once again we have people wanting to put all the blame on Ferrari. As for manufacturers, I didn’t know RBR and STR were manufacturers. When did that happen? The teams have been allowing things to go on for too long and should have put a stop to it sooner, otherwise we wouldn’t have been in the major crisis that F1 found itself in. Heck, they should have put their feet down when Max first threw out all these rule changes for the 2009 season (and where did it actually cut costs?) that turned the season topsy turvy and without any in season testing to try and right things. Many teams suffered over this and the foolish declaration of Max/FIA and the appeals board insisting that the triple D was legal, even though the teams that drew up the rule for that and knew the spirit of the rule said it wasn’t legal. 7 against 3 and the 7 lose, though they made up the rule. I have always suspected, and won’t believe otherwise, that it played into Max’s hands to try and turn the FOTA teams against each other since they were standing so strong. Max doesn’t want his power weakened by a strong united front by the teams. Even Williams and FI stood with them, but couldn’t stand with them through everything because of contractual obligations and such.
I can’t imagine people watching F1 and wanting a spec series, that’s not what F1 is watched for, but with Max at the head, that is what we were starting to head towards … and as was so rightly pointed out, there are enough of those out there to watch without having to wake up at ungodly hours of the morning/night to watch a spec series. A spec series would run the manufacturers out of F1 too, because as they have pointed out in the past, there is no reason for them to own a team and put out a lot of money (whether limited or unlimited) and not be able to show off their tech stuff and/or work on tech stuff that could be transferred to their road cars. They might as well sell the team off and if they still want to be part, could be a sponsor (like manufacturers do in other motorsports).
As for ferrari needing to be on top, along with mclaren and such, it’s not like those teams haven’t been on the bottom and clawed their way up before. Ferrari has been there since the outset of F1, going through droughts. Having a major one that lasted 20 years. But they stayed and they worked and they turned things around, while other teams have come and gone either because of expenses or because they weren’t winning or a combination. So, you may hate Ferrari, but I think they deserve at least a little respect for being there for 60 years. If the other teams didn’t trust them, to some extent at least, Luca wouldn’t have been put in as the head of FOTA.
Mark Danby said | June 29th 2009 @ 1:06pm | Report comment
I totally agree with you point about FOTA! They should be pushing through to make a better F1 for all, esp the fans.. Ticket prices are a joke! But that reflects on the rediculious $$$ Bernie charges each country to hold a race. Max is only part of the problem, Bernie has been “raping” F1 for decades!! Sure he made it what it is today.. But it’s long overdue that he gives something back to the sport and stop charging so much $$$ for host countries with the highest bidder winning. We new new blood to run F1! Briatore is a “people person” and would be perfect for a new age of F1!
Marlon said | June 29th 2009 @ 3:40pm | Report comment
You’re right, there is no guarantee this deal is going to last. I don’t think it will. Too many agendas and egos in the sport means they only look out for themselves.