Formula 1 2009

ABX dej glej DTM al pa kšn WTCC, mogoče lahko tud GP2. Tam ni outsajderjev, so samo dirkači in enaki avtomobili. Je ful razburljivo, res, se ful gonjo pa rinejo, pa tko... Sploh ni dolgčas! Pa tud po dve dirke majo na en dan. Ful dobr.

F1 pa pusti na miru, ni zate.

Friday's announcement that Ferrari is seeking an injunction against the FIA to prevent it from introducing a two-tier structure to F1 puts a new light on comments made to Pitpass' Chris Sylt late last year by Bernie Ecclestone. At that time, Ecclestone bluntly told Sylt that since F1's regulations affect the commercial side of the sport, the FIA should not be writing them. FOTA, the association of F1 teams, may well have cottoned on just in time.

"The sporting regulations basically are what generate the income and we run the commercial business. The FIA should just be the police looking at the rules," said Ecclestone and the teams agree.

"The international federation should simply be the referee. We should write the rules, not have them imposed by Max without speaking to anyone," said Flavio Briatore, Renault F1 team principal, on Thursday and it looks like he has the law on his side.

The reason for this is a European Commission ruling in 2001 that said the FIA must "have no influence over the commercial exploitation of the Formula One Championship." Ecclestone's comments echo this is as he told Sylt that "when we had this problem with the European Commission, they made it very clear that the FIA purely regulate the sport. Even to the extent that the teams and us should be writing the technical and sporting regulations."

But even before the EC ruling, Mosley acknowledged the FIA could not dictate on areas which interfere with the teams' businesses.

In 2000, at a UK government Select Committee meeting covering tobacco sponsorship of F1 teams, Mosley said "the difficulty is that we are dealing with commercial entities whom I have to persuade. If I could just say that is it and dictate, but I cannot. We can on the rules, on things like safety, but we cannot on things which would interfere with their commercial affairs."

'So how can the FIA make the cost-cutting regulations?', you may well ask. Well the answer, according to Ecclestone, is: "They can't really. The teams allow them." He explains that the FIA has been writing the regulations because the teams haven't opposed it. However, by suggesting the budget cap, Mosley looks to have tipped the balance and the teams are no longer playing ball.

Pitpass understands that on 10 May FOTA Vice Chairman John Howett was reminded of Ecclestone's comments that the FIA should not, under European law, be writing F1's regulations. So even if Ferrari's injunction fails, the FIA could face further action from the teams and this time its very powers of lawmaking could be at stake.

...One of the options for the manufacturers is to start their own series and, as it happens, they commissioned a detailed study into the feasibility of this when they were formed into the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association a few years ago. But that was at the height of the economic cycle, when car sales and media rights were at a peak.

Now the landscape is very different.

It is a huge undertaking to start a new series and there couldn’t be a worse time to do it, with the car industry in a once in a generation global crisis. The manufacturers involved in F1 all have far bigger problems to deal with than investing heavily to start their own series. This is the calculation Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone are making.

They could join forces with an existing series, but in either case one of the hardest parts would be getting a really good television package together, because without that there would be no sponsors and no wider media interest. The deals for F1 are signed up well in advance and with many of the world’s leading broadcasters, like the BBC. A split, whereby Ferrari and other manufacturers race in one series and Brawn, Force India, Williams and others are in Formula 1 would not work for either series.

F1 would be a pale shadow of its former self and the new series, despite Ferrari’s presence, would be quite a tough sell in the current TV market. They would probably be able to get some prominent space with terrestrial broadcasters if they offered the coverage for free, or subsidised it but it would be extremely hard to sell rights to a new series for the many millions F1 commands.

Something similar happened in America with the Indycar series in the mid 1990s when Indianapolis boss Tony George split with the CART teams, so what had been Indycar was forced to rename itself Champ Car and lost its most famous race, the Indianapolis 500. TV deals were divided and it was a disaster for both sides, one they have yet to recover from.

I don’t think it will come to this, but there is no doubt that were are passing through a very painful moment for the sport.

Imola (I)
Hockenheim (D)
Indianapolis (USA)
Montreal (Can)
Magny Cours (F)
Mugello (I)
Jerez (E)
Algarve (P)
Aragon (E)
Shanghai (PRC)
Losail (Q)
Fuji ( J)
Silverstone (GB) WOO WOO
Dubai (UAE)
Valencia/Tormo (E)

Vprašanje je kaj želimo, Ferrari in še dve kipi ki tekmujejo za prvo mesto ali več moštev?

Je kdo gledal na HTV? Jaz sem preslisal kaj sta govorila o Rosbergu in Williamsu. Se mi zdi, da je bilo nekaj v zvezi z novimi pravili, nisem pa preprican. Da je Rosberg z necim zacel, samo nimam pojma s cim. :|

40M £ je konzervativna cifra za top team, oz. ekipa ki ima multinacionalko za hrbtom. Raznim Brawn GP, Williams, Force India, Toro Rosso, ... pa bi takoj sprejeli to omejitev. Poleg tega ne vključuje vsega, motorji, vozniki, ... to še vedno nima omejitve.