andrew wrote:
And strength of character?
The guy was out of touch with F1. Look how he tried to impliment a budget cap with an unrealistic timescale, clearly aimed at getting at Ferrari who have the biggest budget. F1 is the pinnicle of motorsport and should have the technology to match, as long as it doesn't stop the overtaking. You can't do that with a budget cap with ridiculously short timescale.
You just don't understand how the budget went down. As I said before, reading would make a huge difference.
Let me show the timeline.
January 2008
Mosley understood as the teams didn't seem to, that budget's of 400-500 millions were simple unsustainable.
-He called a meeting with the teams and Bernie in Paris.
-He raised his concern that with 6 manufacturers in the sport who were riding record profits from 2007, something could give.
-Lehman brothers was yet to collapse.
-All teams agreed action was required, and a study was initiated into the introduction of a budget cap for F1.
-These measures were ready to be to be passed into regulation in the summer of 2008. Only one or two teams objected. If circumstances were normal, they would have been carried through, but the teams were taking too strongly to Max's spanking.
-No action was taken, then in Autumn 2008, the financial world went into meltdown.
-Now the e6 manufacturers were wroth 160e billion and not 500e billion.
-Honda, a firm entry for 2009, pulled out suddenly.
-FOTA created in summer of 2008.
December 12, 2008 - Monaco meeting with Max, and the teams,
-All teams agreed costs needed to come down
-They had many proposals, but Max felt they restricted technical freedom, but the FIA was prepared to accept their ideas.
-weeks go by, and there was no progress.
-Max repeatedly asked for meetings, and the teams refused to talk
-it became clear that the teams wanted to figure this out without their governing body, the FIA
Private meeting in Febuary
-Max addresses concernt they are going to lose more manufacturers, unless thigs got rolling soon, or the 2009 season would have not enough cars on the grid
-Luca promised signed letters from the CEO's of the remaining 5 manufacturer teams that they would remain.
-Soon it became clear that Luca could not produce these letters, even from his own company, FIAT.
-Luca assured that teams could run 3 cars if more manufacturers pulled out, but he could also not back that with letters or guarantees of any kind.
At this point, unable to have a meeting with the teams, the FIA had to make a choice.
A - Do nothing and hope for the best
B - Publish some rules to attract new teams so of the worst happened, there would still be enough cars for a credible championship.
New potential teams were consulted, and the FOTA teams still wouldn't agree to meet. Even though Max was fighting the bad publicity of how he likes his ass spanked, he was getting on with business.
The consultation process with the new potential teams led to the rules draft stating 30e million, but ended up at 40e million after much talk with each team individually, as they still refused to meet as one, and get some work done.
Teams were not keen to take a budget cap at this amount, even if it meant new technical freedom, looking towards innovation instead of chucking piles of money at a problem to go fast.
Early in 2009 three teams came up with the DDD, to the protest in Australia of Ferrari and Reanult to get the device banned.
-Protest begun, Ferrari's lawyer was in Australia ready to go.
-They lost in Melbourne, Malaysian, and the appeal in Paris
-They were furious, and the fury was directed directly at Max.
-Instead of admitting their designers had missed the loophole, they did nothing and hoped for the best.
The FIA had been one of the few sports or businesses that had foreseen the financial meltdown and tried to make steps to avoid damage, and nothing could be done due to the teams, and the spanking.
Mid March - New Rules Draft written
April 29th - Still no dialog with FOTA, they refused to meet.
-the FIA had no choice, went to the WMSC, and published detailed rules on April 29th.
FOTA claimed this was a dictatorship.
Publishing the rules and allowing for the minimum 20 day period under the ISC befroe the opening of entries at last brought FOTA to the negotiating table. Better late than never.
-When the FIA raised the question the cost cap, and make no mistake, "Mad Max" was acting on their behalf and also much of their ideas, Toyota stopmed their feet and stormed from the room, trying to get everyone to follow, and Ferrari launched legal proceedings, which failed.
May 22nd - New meeting in Monaco.
-FOTA was prepared to talk finally. Better late than never.
-They demanded three things
A - clear rules of governance
B - Stable regulations
C - gradual reduction of costs to compete
-FIA offered the governance and stability of the 1998 Concorde Agreement and to hear the teams for ideas on the third point.
May 29th
-deadline for entries reached
-the eight FOTA teams submit conditional entries rejecting the 2010 proposals outright,, and excluding the International Sporting Code as well. The FIA had until June 12th to accept or reject entries
June 11th - Meeting with FOTA
-Everything agreed to except mechanism for cost cap
-agreed that Cost cap / Resource Restrictions were virtually the same
-agreed to put their fianancial experts together (FIA and FOTA) to agree on the methodology.
FOTA immediately tears up this agreement
Following Monday FIA financial experts were confronted with a blank refusal to discus any of the FIA cost cap provisions, notwithstanding the 2008 agreement with the teams.
FOTA then announces breakaway series
I'm startig to tire of typing all this, and I can finish this absurdly accurate timeline later, but I hope it shows some of the doubters that what the FIA, with Mosley at the head , were doing, was in the best interests of the sport, and how the egos of the teams put up road blocks at every turn.
It was hardly a rammed through budget cap idea as some seem uninformed people seem to think, but what was the FIA to do with the prospect of 6 possible manufacturers leaving the sport en masse?
Sitting by and doing nothing would have been insane.
