There is a suggestion of an optional £40mil budget cap next year to encourage new teams to enter. And if the rules is implemented, Ferrari F1 teams have no intention of competing in the 2010 season. Read the full story from Thestar below.
FERRARI WILL QUIT F1 IF 2010 BUDGET CAP IS ON
MILAN: Ferrari will quit Formula One at the end of this season if current plans for a budget cap for 2010 are not abandoned, the champions said yesterday.
Toyota and Red Bull, who also own Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso, have already threatened not to enter next year’s championship unless the new rules published by the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) are changed.
“If the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter their cars in the next Formula One World Championship,” a statement said.
The FIA, headed by Max Mosley, want to introduce an optional £40mil budget cap next year to encourage new teams to enter.
The plan would allow capped teams to operate with far greater technical freedom than those continuing with unlimited budgets.
Ferrari’s president Luca di Montezemolo, head of the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA), has warned it would create a two-tier championship that could be “fundamentally unfair and perhaps even biased”.
The Ferrari board backed his stance at a meeting at Maranello.
“For the first time ever in Formula One, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters,” the statement added.
“The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula One in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari’s uninterrupted participation in the World Championship over the last 60 years…would come to a close.”
The FIA has set a deadline of May 29 for teams wishing to compete in 2010 to submit entries and state whether they want a cap or not.
Ferrari have been in Formula One since the first championship race in 1950 but they have struggled this season and are seventh in the constructors’ standings after five races.
The new ruling by introduced by FIA is done in the wake of current economic conditions that see HONDA withdrawal from the 2009 Formula One race. I think all the teams will not support the move as it is absurb to run the 17 races on a £40mil budget cap.
The FIA recently published the 2010 regulations with some novel inclusions: a winner-take-all system for determining the Championship (yes, again), a higher weight for cars to promote KERS usage, and a budget cap system that would let teams spending no more than £40 million have more technical freedom vs. the big-spending teams. Follow the jump for the rest of the rundown.
The winner-take-all system was again rescinded a number of days after its inclusion, with the apology that it was “a mistake.” The minimum car weight was upped from 605 kg to 620 kg. With the addition of 40 kg of KERS equipment, heavy drivers were being penalized for its use. Many drivers shed weight over the off-season, causing pundits to label the situation a jockey competition.
The cost-cap regulation would create a class of teams spending £40 million, not including driver salaries, marketing, engines, or fines. Those teams could use adjustable front and rear wings, unlimited-revving engines, unlimited out-of-season track testing and wind tunnel testing. Any new teams entering would also get a £6.7 million yearly payment and free transportation of two chassis and freight. (Currently, only points-scoring teams get free transportation to races.)
That regulation caused Ferrari and BMW to hint at quitting F1, and others — teams and drivers included — to openly disparage the tiered structure. Teams like Renault, Williams, and even McLaren and BMW support a cost cap, however, they feel that £40 million is too low and next year is too soon. The teams association, the FOTA, is proposing either a £60 million cap for next year, or that a higher cap is introduced next year and drops over the next three years to £60 million. They are unanimously opposed to any differing class structure.
Bernie Ecclestone, of course, appears to be playing all sides: if costs are reduced for everyone, theoretically he doesn’t need to pay them as much as they get now — £40 million probably being close to what top teams get in revenue from FOM.
Other relating news:
Felipe Massa has slammed as “absurd” the FIA’s two-tier rules fiasco for 2010 on a day when Renault joined Ferrari in threatening to quit Formula One.
Renault managing director Flavio Briatore and president Bernard Rey today made it clear this will be the team’s last season unless the recently-adopted regulations for next season are revised.
Like Ferrari, Renault have derided the FIA for failing to consult with the teams on the matter of a £40million budget cap, and have also called into question the governance of the sport. Motor sport’s world governing body were expecting such a response from the teams, who now face crucial showdown talks with FIA president Max Mosley on Friday with regard to the sport’s future.
Briatore insists the teams are determined to reduce costs, but in “a co-ordinated matter” and not via “unilateral governance handed out by the FIA.”
The flamboyant Italian confirmed: “If the decisions announced by the World Council on the 29th of April are not revised, we have no choice but to withdraw from the FIA Formula One World Championship at the end of 2009.”
The teams are adamant their threat is real, and if carried through should Mosley refuse to yield, would see the likes of former world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso out of a job, as well as last year’s title runner-up in Massa.
Appreciating the stance adopted by his team yesterday, MASSA said: “I understand the motivation, why the company got to this point. The idea of having a championship with two velocities, with cars, which for example are allowed to have flexible wings or an engine without a rev limiter, is absurd. We’ve already seen this year that the rules’ uncertainty (relating to the double diffuser) not only led to a lot of confusion for us involved, but mainly for the fans. Imagine what might happen with what has been set up for 2010.”
RAIKKONEN is also at a loss to understand the two-tier system that has so far caused outrage amongst the major manufacturers.
“It’s difficult to think of a Formula One without Ferrari,” said the sport’s 2007 champion. “When I drove for McLaren, the Scuderia were the benchmark, the competitor you had to be compared with. Since I arrived here I have understood it is much more than just a team; it’s a legend, perpetuated via its road and racing cars. I can’t imagine drivers racing each other on the track with cars built according to different rules. That wouldn’t be good for the sport itself or for the fans. If that should happen, it would be too bad and I understand why a company like Ferrari is thinking about racing somewhere else.”
The FIA see their system as simple: you either choose not to accept the cap and race under the current regulations, or abide by the cap and enjoy a degree of technical freedom.
However, those cars would have a considerable performance advantage via greater engine and KERS power, as well as aerodynamic aids.
It is understood a flexible rear wing alone, currently outlawed but available to a team next season working within the cap, could lead to a car being two seconds per lap quicker than those without.
Toyota Motorsport boss JOHN HOWETT, who has already made clear his team will not sign up for next season by the May 29 deadline if the rules are not changed, today further underlined his position. “I feel that Ferrari’s statement eloquently summarises the current struggle the Formula One teams are facing. If you consider the single thread running through all team’s similar statements, it is a wish to establish a correct and proper basis of governance for the sport. There is clearly a genuine wish for all to continue to compete in Formula One, but only if future stability is assured. To secure this, the priority for the future is a process of governance which ensures all competitors compete under the same rules”.
“Also, that the regulations are stable and establishes a platform from which costs can be sensibly and actively reduced without destroying the core DNA of the sport.”
So far Ferrari, Renault, Toyota and Dietrich Mateschitz who runs Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso have voiced their opposition.
Brawn GP, Force India and Williams are understood to be in favour of a cap, but with concerns relating to the two-tier system.
BMW have yet to go public, but privately are against it, whilst Mercedes Motorsport boss Norbert Haug has today confirmed that “pulling out is not a topic” within his organisation.
However, Haug added: “All the teams are agreed that there cannot be two regulations in one series. We need a solution for all the teams.”