Williams against two-tier series

The FIA on Thursday confirmed the introduction of an optional £40 million budget cap from the 2010 season, with those teams adhering to it being allowed more technical freedom.

The move would mean two different kinds of cars on the grid, an scenario that has led to criticism of the rules.

Williams admitted on Thursday that his team was in favour of introducing a budget cap, but said he was against having a championship with two sets of regulations.

"Williams has supported the introduction of a budget cap since the idea was first put forward early in 2008," said Williams. "Since then FOTA has made tremendous steps forward on costs but the rationale for a budget cap has also grown even stronger.

"We would like to see all the teams operating to one set of regulations and under a budget cap in 2010 and that is the position we will be advocating within FOTA when we meet next week.

"We understand that this will represent a serious challenge for some of the teams but we expect that FOTA will work together to find a unified and constructive way to take the FIA's initiative forward."

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh had earlier said his team was also against a two-tier series.

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Mallya cautious on FIA's new rules

Force India boss Vijay Mallya says he is cautious about the FIA's introduction of a budget cap for the 2010 season.

The governing body confirmed on Thursday that Formula 1 teams will be able to adhere to an optional £40 million budget cap from next year, with more technical freedom allowed for them.

McLaren and Williams have already reacted to the plan with scepticism, saying they are against a championship with two sets of rules.

Mallya said he was in favour of moves to reduce costs, but admitted the proposals have to be fully analysed.

"In principle Force India welcomes all cost cutting initiatives and budget caps, but we must fully investigate and understand the implications of the current measures proposed by both the FIA and FOTA," said Mallya.

"We will review the proposal internally and within the next FOTA meeting scheduled for Wednesday 6 May and until this point it would be inappropriate to comment further."

World champions Ferrari, meanwhile, refused to make any comments about the new rules.

"With regards to the press release put out by the FIA on the day after the WMSC meeting, at the moment, Ferrari does not intend to make any comment on the matter," a statement from Ferrari said.

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McLaren reluctant about two-tier series

The governing body confirmed on Thursday the introduction of a £40 million budget cap from the 2010 season.

While supporting that FIA's push to reduce costs, Whitmarsh suggested teams are unhappy about the idea of a two-tier series.

The McLaren boss insisted dialogue between the teams and the FIA is the solution to find a compromise that would make all parties happy without having two types of cars on the grid.

"As a member of FOTA, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is of course supportive of FOTA's recent efforts to reduce costs in Formula 1," said Whitmarsh. "Equally, we recognise the excellent work done recently by the FIA in the area of cost-reduction.

"Having said all that, we understand that some teams' operational budgets may still be unnecessarily high in the challenging global economic situation in which we now find ourselves.

"Nonetheless, we believe that the optimal solution - which may or may not include a budget cap, but which ideally would not encompass a two-tier regulatory framework - is most likely to be arrived at via measured negotiation between all parties.

"We at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are happy to contribute to that process as and when required."

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Ferrari warns budget cap may hurt F1

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has warned FIA president Max Mosley that the introduction of a budget cap in 2010 could lead to an "unfair" and "biased" championship that could damage the sport.

In a letter written to the governing body on Thursday, a copy of which has been seen by AUTOSPORT, di Montezemolo wrote that the sport could be seriously damaged by the introduction of the new rules.

Mosley told the team principals in a letter of his own, however, that he remained steadfastly convinced the sport must respond to the global economic crisis or face an uncertain future.

The governing body confirmed on Thursday that teams will be able to adhere to a £40 million budget from the 2010 season. In exchange for the limited budget, those teams would be allowed more technical freedom, including movable wings or engines without a rev limit.

The move has not been well received by some teams who believe a two-tier series is not good for the future of Formula 1.

Although Ferrari refused to make any comments on Thursday following the confirmation of the rules, it has been revealed that di Montezemolo wrote a letter to Mosley expressing his concerns about the budget caps.

"All aspects of the new regulations should be carefully reviewed," di Montezemolo wrote. "Limiting, for the time being, my comments to the cost cap issue, as you know I have always been concerned about the introduction, mainly because I consider that there are serious technical difficulties in making sure that any cap can be
realistically monitored.

"Additionally, any controversy on the actual respect of the cost cap would undermine the image of Formula 1 and could seriously damage any involved team.

"There are on the other hand doubts as to whether or not two categories of teams should be created which will inevitably mean that one category will have an advantage over the other and that the championship will be fundamentally unfair and, perhaps, even biased.

"In any event this would create confusion in the public's mind which would seriously lower the value of Formula 1. I do not think that this is appropriate knowing what Formula 1 represents for its players and for the public."

The Ferrari president also expressed concern about the timing and the way the rules have been introduced, as he believes there is "no extreme urgency" for the move.

Di Montezemolo also points out that, according to the Concorde Agreement, the FIA cannot pass any rules without the approval of the F1 commission.

Mosley, replying in another letter also seen by AUTOSPORT, told di Montezemolo that the sport must act urgently in order continue in its current form given the world's financial crunch.

The FIA president also wrote that teams have been aware of the introduction of the budget cap for quite some time, adding that Ferrari has "chosen not to engage with us on cost-cap rules during the past six weeks."

"The car industry and financial services are the two main sources of Formula 1 income. Both are in serious difficulty. We cannot just sit and wait, hoping nothing bad will happen. We have already lost one manufacturer," wrote Mosley

"Despite my repeated requests, not a single manufacturer has given us a legally-binding undertaking that it will continue in Formula 1. We may also lose another manufacturer team at any moment.

"We already know that current levels of expenditure are unsustainable for the independent teams. If we are to reduce the risk of the Formula One World Championship collapsing, we have to allow new teams in. We also have to reduce costs drastically.

"The matter is therefore extremely urgent, because a new team needs to know if it is to be ready to compete in 2010. It is already a very late start."

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MOSLEY: F1 CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT FERRARI

FIA president Max Mosley has insisted that Formula 1 could live without Ferrari in response to Luca di Montezemolo's criticism of the budget cap regulations.

The Ferrari chairman hit out at the introduction of the budget cap in a letter to the FIA revealed by AUTOSPORT yesterday.

In the letter di Montezemolo said the budget cap could undermine the credibility of the sport and be difficult to implement. He suggested that "all aspects of the new regulations should be carefully reviewed."

But Mosley insists that the £40 million budget cap is vital for the health of F1, saying that if Ferrari was to be lost to F1 it would simply be "sad". He added that he expects it to be difficult for the team to justify its opposition to the budget cap to the Ferrari board given the amount of money it could save.

"The sport could survive without Ferrari," Mosley told the Financial Times. "It would be very sad to lose Ferrari. It is the Italian national team.

"I hope and think that when a team goes to its board and says, 'I want to go to war with the FIA, because I want to be able to spend £100m more than the FIA want me to spend,' the board will say, 'Why can't you spend £40m if the other teams can do it?'"

Mosley emphasised that the FIA would not back away from the budget cap and that it is vital for the financial health of F1 in both the long and short term.

"The cost cap is here to stay," he said. "There is room for discussion, it might go up or down in 2011 and if the economy picks up, say in 2014, then it might go up. You might adjust the cap in the interests of the sport, but you'll have everyone on a level playing field.

"The credit crunch hasn't really hit F1 yet. Obviously we lost Honda, but the real crunch will come when current contracts come to be renewed.

"Those contracts were signed before their share prices took a dump. I believe FOM [Formula One Management, the commercial rights holder of F1] will not be able to give the teams as much money as they have."

Mosley admitted that policing the budget cap would be difficult, but that any suspected irregularities would be thoroughly investigated.

"The difficulty and danger of cheating would be enormous," Mosley told the FT. "If we had the slightest suspicion that anyone was cheating, we'd send a team in to check. That's part of the deal.

"The [Inland] Revenue can't put even one tax inspector into each business on a permanent basis, we can put several in."

SOURCE: Autosport

Wow, Max Mosley really hitting out there, nice to see, What I like as well, is that Ferrari's President Luce Di Montezemelo, is critising F1 again because its not what he wants, How childish is that? haha

Just look at what the early 90s told us about Formula One, Small budget, Small teams, Cars running with barely any technology like today, and look what we had....

AMAZING RACING!!!!

Why is that guy so stupid to not see it that way like the rest of us?, it really does beg the question.

Wow, Max Mosley really hitting out there, nice to see, What I like as well, is that Ferrari's President Luce Di Montezemelo, is criticising F1 again because its not what he wants, How childish is that? haha

Just look at what the early 90s told us about Formula One, Small budget, Small teams, Cars running with barely any technology like today, and look what we had....

AMAZING RACING!!!!

Why is that guy so stupid to not see it that way like the rest of us?, it really does beg the question.

kipi19

Ok just take a second to think about this from Ferrari's point of view for a second. Firstly Ferrari are unique in that they started selling cars in order to fund going motor racing so raising money to fund there f1 team is part of their heritage and so now they would only need £40 million for the technical side of things plus another £40 million for the other running costs means that part of there heritage is now nul and void.

Secondly the FIA have made no attempt to make the capped and non-capped teams equal and so basically everyone has to agree to the gap or end up spending a whole season throwing money away and still end up miles of the pace which defeats the whole object of a two tier system.

Thirdly think of it just from a business point of view. If someone brings in a new law meaning half of your staff will have to be laid off you are going to do whatever you can to stop this new law being passed as no employer likes to make people redundant.

To be honest part of me hopes that this budget cap fails and that Ferrari and the other manufactures break off and form there own championship that would become the new pinnacle of motor-sport whilst all the new teams that wanted a budget cap before joining get cold feet and leave f1 with only a handful teams that will develop there cars slower that grass grows and spend the majority of the second half of the season stuck in court fighting about how they shouldn't be fined for overspending there measly budget because they wanted to buy some more tea bags and had to go over budget to do so.

Ecclestone says he will protect Ferrari

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says he will protect Ferrari's position in the team's row with FIA president Max Mosley over the introduction of budget caps.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said last week the budget cap rules could cause serious damage to the sport.

That led Mosley to say over the weekend that Formula 1 could survive without Ferrari if the team does not adapt to the rules.

"The sport could survive without Ferrari," Mosley told the Financial Times. "It would be very sad to lose Ferrari. It is the Italian national team.

"I hope and think that when a team goes to its board and says, 'I want to go to war with the FIA, because I want to be able to spend £100m more than the FIA want me to spend,' the board will say, 'Why can't you spend £40m if the other teams can do it?'"

Speaking to The Times newspaper, Ecclestone said he won't let Mosley "destroy" Ferrari.

"I won't let it happen," Ecclestone told the newspaper.

"The trouble with Luca is that you shouldn't let Max ever be in a position where he can start a debate or an argument. He's reasonably clever and you won't win.

"Even if you do win, it's like you being in the audience and me being there with the microphone. You say something smart and I don't give you the microphone — it's as easy as that."

Ecclestone, however, insisted the budget cap idea could still work if the teams and the FIA manage to agree on some important points.

"It would appear that everyone is in favour of the cap, including Ferrari, if we can get them to agree, which we can," Ecclestone added.

"However, there is concern over the amount that is referred to in the cap for some of the teams and also the two-tier system. So these are probably not monumental things to sort out."

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Heritage is a great thing, Don't get me wrong, But to preserve Formula one it needs to change, and the way forward is to bring back small budgets, small teams, and simpler rules and regulations, to make it all a lot more fair between all the teams.

I'm not arguing that Ferrari are a great team and deserve their place in F1 history, BUT, they need to stop being so ****ing selfish, and think of the sport as a whole, If the greatest motorsport show on earth is to survive, Ferrari need to change with it.

Theissen in warning over two-tier F1

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen has warned that Formula 1's manufacturer teams may reconsider their future in the sport if a two-tier championship goes ahead next season.

With senior figures within the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) suggesting there is deep unhappiness at the FIA's decision to impose a voluntary budget cap for 2010, Theissen has admitted that car makers may turn their back on what he thinks would be a 'difficult situation' in the sport.

FOTA has already demanded 'urgent' talks with the FIA over the matter, and sources are suggesting that the current teams may even be evaluating a plan to not lodge their entries to the 2010 championship by the May 29 deadline if the current rules are not changed.

Making reference to the fact that the BMW board has given its full support to the F1 programme despite his team's difficult start, Theissen said that such an attitude could change dramatically if the voluntary budget cap is imposed.

"We analysed and evaluated the situation and the F1 programme with the board prior to the start of the season in February," said Theissen. "It was overall a very positive evaluation and judgement, and that hasn't changed.

"Apparently everybody is disappointed about the sporting results, but other than that there is no news and we have not discussed it since.

"What is important though is next year's regulations. We really hope that there will be a one tier F1 next year, and not two ****s of cars running to different regulations, because that would definitely affect our next internal evaluation. It would be a different environment."

When asked if he felt that manufacturers would go so far as leave F1 because of the rules, he said: "It is hard to tell. It would definitely create a difficult situation."

FOTA's leading figures are keen not to talk too much about what was agreed at Wednesday's meeting in Heathrow, but high level sources within the organisation suggest there was a unanimous feeling that the current plans for 2010 had to change.

Theissen would not reveal any details but said: "I will not comment on the substance of our discussions. I can tell you that we are still in one boat.

"We are preparing a response from our side to the regulatory situation but also to the commercial side, and obviously we want to discuss this with the FIA. And the FIA first, not passing it onto them through the public and media."

Brawn team principal Ross Brawn added: "We have to find a solution. We are putting together some suggestions and our idea is to work with the FIA. We want to talk to them about our concerns.

"We want to put together some ideas in the next few weeks, and our goal is to reduce costs but also keep F1 as great as possible."

There is a time pressure to get the situation sorted, however, with entries to next year's championship closing at the end of this month.

The idea of the teams sticking together and not submitting any entries for 2010 is one possibility, while it has been suggested that some FOTA members are looking at the manner by which the voluntary budget cap has been introduced - and whether it subscribes to official FIA protocol.

Earlier this year, FOTA managed to get the FIA's introduction of a 'winner takes all' championship system scrapped after it was not introduced properly.

When asked if an entry boycott was possible, Theissen said: "Sorry. This is part of the discussion we want to have with the FIA."

With Ferrari having been at the centre of headlines all week about its future in the sport in the wake of the budget cap announcement, driver Felipe Massa expressed some weariness about the situation in Spain on Thursday.

"I feel that the political side is bigger than ever," he said. "I'm not happy about that.

"At the moment there are too many political games around F1 that I don't want to put myself in the middle of. The only thing I can say is that it would be nice to have a better sport, less political, and more sport."

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