FOTA starts a breakaway series

[WhiteBlue]

Once FOM collapses and F1 is significantly damaged FOTA will have the necessary leverage to push their own candidate at the FIA presidential elections. It looks to me as if this has been the objective for some time.

Why? The FIA is an irredeemable entity with politically stacked courts of appeal covering each others' asses and bone-headed stewards who don't even look at video footage or listen to radio transmissions before issuing a ruling. They are also very poor at interpreting the English language interpreting internal mass dampers as "movable aero devices". Last year's Spa decision etc. There is nothing there worth saving. Junk the whole lot of them. If they wanted to run a candidate to replace Max they would have done so the last time around as he wasn't very popular then either with all the GPMA row being contemporary just prior to that election.

Obviously FOTA are determined to separate FOM from most of the revenues the company needs to serve their current overburdening debts. And they seem to be in a position to do that one way or another. The consequence can only be failure of FOM and going into receivership. Ideally a FOTA series would want to claim the F1 heritage which they have a pritty good chance to, if they eliminate CVC. The brand value is just too good to drop the name. In order to use F1 FOTA would have to deal with the brand owner as well. The FIA has a veto regarding the sale of F1 commercial rights. So it would be logical if they try to get a sympathetic person into control of the FIA. This whole campaign lately reminds me a lot of the FIA/FOCA war. 2003 and 2005 were different because there never was a nucleus of capabilities and strengthes. This time around the teams have a very rich person who wants them to do their own series (Mateschitz). They have someone with ambition in commercial control (Briatore) and they have the ego in the back who knows all about the tricks of the antagonists (Montezemolo).

[tarzoon]

So Max cannot win. If he loses, he's off. If he wins a court case, then the teams may have to stay, but not necessarily be competitive or even qualify.

On the other hand, with the sponsors in FOTA series, what would the F1 liverly be like?

"Great races only on FOTA series. CHANNEL 17"
"WWW.FOTA-GP.COM - Live streaming"
"Fast boys and pretty babes. FOTA-GP"
"FOTA-GP-KICKS-ASS"
"Do it like Max: Watch FOTA-GP!"

Any better suggestions?

[jon-mullen]

"What the FOTA have you been watching?"

"Watch FOTA, because the FIA and FOM are FUBAR."

And for the Italians: "I make-a de FOTA just for you!"

[djos]

Ecclestone to mediate.... uggh. Enough of this Bernie worship. If he was so wise, if he was so powerful, then why did he let it get to this point... or anywhere near it. Face it... Bernie isn't all wise or all powerful. Max trumped him at Indy in 2005 and he ignored him in 2009. This is the simple truth that any kindergartner could see. Let's lay this one to bed once and for all.

Spanky and the Evil Dwarf both have to go period!

They were once doing a great job but now they are senile old fools with no f'n idea how to run professional motorsports properly!

The FIA needs a no BS person at the helm to restructure it into a "real" representative organisation and the only person I can see being able to do that with no bias perception problems is Paul Stoddart.

[Conceptual]

It wont be hard really. If the FOTA (or whatever it would be called) teams all agree upon a budget cap, or resource cap, or whatever, maybe they should look into pooling the sponsorship between all teams, and the sponsor that pays the most gets their logos on the championship leading car, and so on. Only the numbers stay the same, the base color of the car. and the readily visible oversized manufacturer logo.

I, for one, am breathlessly awaiting their regs when published. It is gonna be tough to compete with the cars that are gonna be in F1 (that was their whole problem with the two tier series, cars on track with a 2 sec/lap advantage).

If FOTA don't do this right, they are going to be second place for the fastest GP series on the planet. I think they may end up with the 2010 cap-regs, but with a 100M budget cap, self enforced, and just do all of the awesome speed stuff that the 2010 F1 cars will have, but of course double the R&D budget, and make chassis parts for the new F1 teams...

[RacingManiac]

that is assuming if there is going to be cars at all in "F1". The "F1" can be so fast in theory, but can they be made at $80 Million and work properly? We'll see....

Can someone like Litespeed or "Brabham" make a car? I doubt it....

And who is going to spend part of their 80mil on developing the fantastical 4WD KERS or active aero? And can the Cosworth last a whole season with 8 engines while running unrestricted?

Under FOTA's proposal the small teams at least get their "non-performance-differntiator" designed and perhaps made by the big teams so they can concentrate on doing their own detail work, what about now?

Hopeful optimism that the FIA's proposed rule is made of will not make a car run....

If this actually goes ahead, we'll get a Williams kicking the rest of the field's butt, while the other teams thats on the reserve list now will be struggling to make 107%, good thing they got rid of that rule.....

[flynfrog]

I am not sure you could even start a car from scratch at that price let alone the wet dream of uber kers awd active aero.

Does buying the shop equipment count in the budget? autoclaves are not cheap neither are windtunnels

[andartop]

So Max cannot win. If he loses, he's off. If he wins a court case, then the teams may have to stay, but not necessarily be competitive or even qualify.

On the other hand, with the sponsors in FOTA series, what would the F1 liverly be like?

"Great races only on FOTA series. CHANNEL 17"
"WWW.FOTA-GP.COM - Live streaming"
"Fast boys and pretty babes. FOTA-GP"
"FOTA-GP-KICKS-ASS"
"Do it like Max: Watch FOTA-GP!"

Any better suggestions?

"There's nothing to see here - please move on"
"Max Who?"
"Formula 0.5 Racing Team"
"NOT the real McCoy"
"Are you serious?"

They could also have special liveries for special occasions, ie:
Races:
Singapore evening GP, "Go for a pint or go to bed mate"
Monaco GP, "Telephone Wake-Up Service"

Or special themes:
"Kinetic Energy Recovery My Ass"
"Snowploughs On Fire"

The best I can think of though would be a WANTED-DEAD OR ALIVE pic of Max, FOR CRIMES AGAINST F1!!!

[gcdugas]

It wont be hard really. If the FOTA (or whatever it would be called) teams all agree upon a budget cap, or resource cap, or whatever, maybe they should look into pooling the sponsorship between all teams, and the sponsor that pays the most gets their logos on the championship leading car, and so on. Only the numbers stay the same, the base color of the car. and the readily visible oversized manufacturer logo.

I, for one, am breathlessly awaiting their regs when published. It is gonna be tough to compete with the cars that are gonna be in F1 (that was their whole problem with the two tier series, cars on track with a 2 sec/lap advantage).

If FOTA don't do this right, they are going to be second place for the fastest GP series on the planet. I think they may end up with the 2010 cap-regs, but with a 100M budget cap, self enforced, and just do all of the awesome speed stuff that the 2010 F1 cars will have, but of course double the R&D budget, and make chassis parts for the new F1 teams...

Well considering that the FIA F1 won't even have eight cars on the grid, it is hard to see them ever turning an honest timed lap in competition so we will never know.

[xpensive]

The Force India cars are already 2 seconds slower than Brawn and Red Bull, aren't they, while I doubt if Campos and Redneck racing will be any faster?

[andartop]

The Force India cars are already 2 seconds slower than Brawn and Red Bull, aren't they, while I doubt if Campos and Redneck racing will be any faster?

In order to prove the new regulations proposed and imposed by Max will indeed level the field and allow new teams to be competitive, race stewards will be allowed to add time penalties of any amount at will at the faster cars after the end of each race.

Race winner will be declared the driver who was faster right before crossing the start/finish line, and will be awarded with a gold coin. Each five gold coins can be exchanged for a gold steering wheel. The driver to reach two and a half steering wheels first will be declared Champion. Second and third place will get silver and bronze coins. 7.5 silver ones will equal one gold, and 10 bronze ones half a gold. The teams however will be ranked based on the current points system. Extra 30 points will be awarded automatically to each FOTA team willing to come back to F1.

[xpensive]

And what about the team(s) finishing without coins at season's end? A free week in one of MrM's dungeons perhaps?

[gcdugas]

In order to prove the new regulations proposed and imposed by Max will indeed level the field and allow new teams to be competitive, race stewards will be allowed to add time penalties of any amount at will at the faster cars after the end of each race.

Race winner will be declared the driver who was faster right before crossing the start/finish line.....

Right before the cars cross the start/finish line? Where do you get such foolish notions? Everyone knows that the race winner will be decided at a WMSC court hearing weeks after the actual race where the time penalties will be meted out.

[xpensive]

Will that be the same court which decided that a hole is not necessarily a hole, when it is a slot?

[outer_bongolia]

Mosley in Autosport: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76332

"I don't take it as seriously as some people do because I know that it is all posturing and posing," Mosley explained in a lengthy interview with the BBC on Friday. "It will all stop sometime between the beginning of 2010 and March 2010, the first race. All this will stop, it will all settle down and everyone will go racing."

When asked if he was totally sure there would be a solution that headed off the possibility of two championships, Mosley said: "Absolutely. I am completely confident because in the end people do what it is in their interests to do.

"It is in the interests of the teams to be in the F1 world championship and there is actually no fundamental or important issue that is stopping them taking part. It is all about personalities and power and who can grab what from whom, which is easy when nothing is at stake but when it gets to the first race and it is make your mind up time, they will be there."

I'm afraid some of us are celebrating a bit prematurely. I expect FIA to get a restraining injunction preventing FOTA from going forward. FIA might believe it does not have to win in court -- just delay.

It is funny how Mosley says "it is all about personalities and power and who can grab what from whom". It's his personality and abuse of power and Ecclestone's incessant quest in grabbing as much money as possible from the teams, tracks, and broadcast that brought the whole issue here.