Formula 1 has driven itself into the abyss. The manufacturers are walking away from the sport to set up their own championship. The threat is real and the fight is about more than just salary caps. It is about the fight over control of the sport. Self-interest, delusion and greed look set to kill a once great sport.
The manufacturers (FOTA) are no longer prepared to negotiate with FIA President Max Mosely who has remained resolute in his desire to push through draconian legislation that doesn’t have their full agreement.
In the middle of all this is Bernie Ecclestone’s whose greed has created a sport in which power struggles and money take precedent over matters concerning the actual sporting contest.
As this season has dramatically confirmed, on track performance is so dominated by regulations and technicalities.
Thus a team that was nowhere last year, who committed to developing its car to this seasons regulations early last year and almost didn’t make it on the grid, is now the dominant force.
This season has thus confirmed to the wider sporting public what many hardcore fans already knew; in essence Formula 1 isn’t a true sporting contest between drivers.
It’s the result of poor governance, a lack of awareness of what the public want and a lack of transparency and accountability from Ecclestone, Mosley and even the teams.
Upon hearing the manufacturers breakaway announcement, Mosley claimed the manufacturers were “posturing and posing” in their claims.
If the FIA and Ecclestone don’t take this threat seriously they will force the manufacturers to act and then a split will become inevitable.
Once this happens we may have reached the point of no return.
As this dispute is over the fundamental issues of control, neither party is likely give in easily.
If the FOTA series does materialise with the combined might of the manufacturers and best drivers, the FIA series will be left with little else apart from a group of part timers.
No one will be interested.
The Monaco GP for example has already said it is only interested in staging a race that involves the likes of Ferrari.
Other tracks, sponsors and drivers will feel the same way.
The manufacturers are well within their right to seek greener pastures.
They have been subjected to constant, and sometimes, nonsensical regulation changes that have cost them millions.
They have been robbed of important markets such as North America.
Despite their enormous investment, they have so little say in its direction and they have now lost faith in the FIA’s ability to govern.
Combined with the little share they receive of the total revenue the sport generates, most of which goes directly into the pockets of a select few, breaking away and setting up their own championship makes sense long term, especially given the difficulty in working together with Mosley.
Despite the promise of a utopian series under FOTA, free of the political interference from the FIA and greed of Ecclestone, the damage now being done may be irreversible.
As the Northern American IndyCar split showed, the damage that a breakaway causes is forever.
Some insiders have long predicted Formula 1 would implode under the weight of greed, money and arrogance.
It now seems to be heading that way.
Like no other sport, Formula 1 has mastered the concept of airing its dirty laundry out in public.
But this has gone too far.
Even hardcore fans have now had enough and are tuning out.
Why should fans invest an emotional commitment into a sport that constantly treats them with such utter disrespect and is constantly in a state of flux and chaos?
It’s a question I and many other fans are now asking.
autogyro
Guest
Frankly, what the manufacturers think is completely irrelevant. It is the FIA that runs F1 and has done so for 60 years. Little johny come lately Italian aristocrats and French play boys have no right attempting to draw up unfair and unsustainable regulations using huge amounts of money from tax payer bail outs that has kept their bankruptcy at bay. These are the same acts based on the same lack of values as the world bankers, who have taken the peoples money for their own ends and should be in prison. It is also time for the motoring press to start publishing articles that are true, instead of printing statements from those who habitually tell lies. Gormley of the Times would do well to take note. Max Mosley is President of the FIA and will remain so until the FIA decides otherwise, not jumped up Italians or anybody else including the media. The fans may be gullible enough to fall for the lies coming from Fota but the world public sure as hell will not be. The heart of F1 is in England and it does not need Ferrari to survive.
Adrian Musolino
Expert
The next FIA president will come from within the body or someone who has been embedded in F1 politics. Interesting to hear Max mention Jean Todt again and he has been earmarked for some time now. Don't think the manufacturers will be too impressed with him. DC would be great on the commercial side of things. He always understood that the sport had to be entertaining and needed to do more for the fans.
autogyro
Guest
David Coultard is a great guy but never an FIA President.
Benjamin Conkey
Editor
Let David Coulthard run F1. He is the voice of logic. I'm sure he could do a better job even without any business knowledge.
Adrian Musolino
Expert
autogyro, this is the problem with autocratic institutions. The FIA and Bernie have failed in grooming successors or even having a succession plan. There is still much to sort out and it doesn't seem the deal has made any headway on the commercial side, things like returning to North America, better revenue distribution etc. As you say plenty of time for all concerned to screw it up and they need to address the fundamental flaws with the sport.
autogyro
Guest
Perhaps Adrian but the fat woman has not yet sung. Max is not retiring only comfirming that he will not stand for election as he stated when he received the FIA vote of confidence. Plenty of time for the teams to screw up, which is almost inevitable. There is still nobody suitable or experienced enough to run F1 for the FIA, so
Adrian Musolino
Expert
Well the breakaway threat is over - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76498 Max won't be standing for reelection and so will be gone in October, the teams have agreed to some cost cutting plans and they have signed up til 2012. Don't expect an end to the political infighting however as there are still many issues unresolved.
Marlon
Guest
If it splits into two then that is it! People will stop watching, there will be so much confusion that people won't know what is going on. They need to settle this now and end all the political crap!
Spinner
Guest
It won't happen. You can't organise a championship in time, even if you started at the start of this year. This is a game of chicken and both sides know what will happen if neither side yields.
autogyro
Guest
Every year is a clean sheet of paper in F1 design, even with no rule changes. It is much the same with F1 engine development. Making a small number of special engine blocks, crankshafts and other components for an eight cylinder engine is no different than for a ten when the machinery is re set anyway. There is perhaps a slight increase in design costs but over all very little increase. I know this from over 30 years of involvement in the industry. The aerodynamics are a sore point either way. Wind tunnel testing costs huge amounts for tiny performance gains and cost caps on this are essential. Unfortunately, if a new car starts with poor aerodynamics, it is now very difficult to sort the problems with limited wind tunnel testing and over all cost caps. The FIA has to form regulations that suit both the manufacturer teams with unlimited budgets and the small teams with very small budgets. The big teams have a huge monetary advantage that has grown in parallel with the success of F1 since Bernie and Max took over. Today the big manufacturers are spending money on F1 given to them through the government bail outs in their respective countries, this is unacceptable to the world public and must be cut back. The FIA has a massively complex and serious job trying to sort these problems so as to keep F1 accepted as a world sporting activity in the face of the world financial collapse and the energy and environmental issues. In contrast the car manufacturers simply want to spend other peoples money to give them an unfair advantage and ignore the obvious problems. It is difficult for the big teams to accept sudden change it is true but Max has given them over a year to discus the issues or come up with workable alternatives. I think they tried with Kers and the other limitations in the 2009 regs but it has resulted in them all slipping down the grid. I believe this is from complacency and they should reorganize and work harder, the smaller teams are getting results without unlimited budgets after all. Kers is essential to keep F1 directly reflecting road car development and to be fair Ferrari are using it at Silverstone, it is early days and the next generation of this technology should show great promise. In the mean time the FIA and Fota should stop possing and come to an agreement for the sake of the sport and the fans should be better informed by the motoring press, who by and large do not have a clue and like the world press in general sensationalize everything at the expense of reality.
Benjamin Conkey
Editor
According to Mosley, Ferrari signed a contract, which legally states they will compete in F1 until 2012. I think the FIA is confident that if they can win the legal battle against Ferrari..the other teams will fall back into line. But this will get very messy - whatever happens.
Dish
Guest
Autogyro, you raise many valid points, but I feel it is those that the columnist (Adrian) has raised that are the concerns of the manufacturers resulting in the current impasse. With BE & MM constantly making drastic rule changes over the last few seasons, teams have had to spend vast sums as there were so many clean sheet designs required. The message that the FIA send is hypocritical. You cannot just remove two cylinders from a V10 to make a V8. You cannot take a few vanes off a rear wing and make it behave like one that is designed to be used with only a handful. It's easy for a head honcho of an organisation to say "we need X done by next year, and Y by the year after, now go do it" but then the teams have to go out and develop those. Development costs money, major development even more. And where did you get the info regarding the manufacturers when you state "that they are nearly all bankrupt"?
tifosi
Guest
Being a massive ferrari fan, its indeed a sad day for the sport but unfortunately was inevitable. Anyway, wherever ferrari go they will get my support and i believe the majority of F1 fans with them.
autogyro
Guest
I believe it would be useful if you took a few years to study the background to F1 and the reasons the manufacturers are trying to take control of F1. Mosley writes to the teams 03/07/2008 Mosley writes to the teams FIA President Max Mosley has this morning (Thursday), sent the folloiwng letter to the teams. Formula One is becoming unsustainable. The major manufacturers are currently employing up to 1000 people to put two cars on the grid. This is clearly unacceptable at a time when all these companies are facing difficult market conditions. Also, with attention on energy problems world-wide, Formula One cannot afford to be profligate in its use of fuel. Indeed, without the KERS initiative, some major sponsors might already have left. The FIA is therefore inviting the teams to make proposals To reduce current levels of expenditure. New rules must ensure that the costs of the manufacturer teams come down by at least 50% and that the independent teams become financially viable. Both must be done without affecting the spectacle in any way. To extract more useful energy from less fuel. The target should be a (very challenging) 50% reduction from today’s levels of fuel consumption by 2015, while maintaining current speeds. The rules should encourage manufacturer teams to research technologies which are road-relevant rather than Formula One-specific. To improve the racing, including rules to ensure that cars remain aerodynamically efficient when in close proximity to one another. The matter is now urgent. We need proposals which we can turn into detailed rules. These must be ready within three months and have the support of at least a majority of the teams, failing which the FIA will itself prepare new rules for 2011. Professor Goeschel has kindly agreed to hold meetings of FOMAC to discuss these issues directly with the manufacturers. Yours sincerely Max Mosley Innovation MUST be directed at technology that benefits road vehicles for the future not the narrow demands of motor racing fans or competitors like myself past or present. The world public will expect no less and to ignore their demands will kill off F1. KERS is the answer to that, because it is exactly the same as hybrid and electric vehicle technology. Competition remains between the technical teams and the drivers, with no limit on KERS development. IC engines have reached both the end of feasible improvement and any logical application into the future. It is vested interest in this out dated technology that is causing the problems. Companies like Ferrari will only move into the future kicking and screaming and they hate being sensibly restricted on expenditure, which is absolutely essential in todays economic reality. The narrow view of the manufacturers is again vested in the oil industry and they would like the public to ignore the fact that they are nearly all bankrupt.