In the light of the inflicted damage to the image of Formula One by Max Mosley and his refusal to step down as FIA President after the sex-scandal in which he was involved, Bernie Ecclestone is exploring the possibility to set up a new championship outside the auspices of the governing body.
I did, but even if it was critical or negative I would have welcomed itdonskar wrote:nae, I hope you understand my last post was meant to be funny and in no way a critical or negative comment
translation:Die Teams spalten sich derzeit in zwei Lager. McLaren-Mercedes und Honda stehen auf der Seite von Ecclestone. Toyota und Williams halten nichts von einer Piratenserie ohne die FIA. Ferrari hält sich zurück:"Wir äußern uns zu dem Thema erst, wenn alle Fakten auf dem Tisch liegen", erklärte Pressesprecher Luca Colajanni. Ferrari vermutet, dass es im Zuge des Mosley-Skandals noch zu weiteren Enthüllungen kommen wird. BMW-Sportchef Mario Theissen ist ähnlich vorsichtig: "Ich habe im Moment noch kein klares Bild." Theissen sagt aber auch: "Eine eigene Serie ist bei allen Szenarien, die durchgespielt wurden, nicht die erste Option."
There can be little doubt that Bernie send this test balloon up to increase pressure or for whatever reason he has. It is equally clear that the idea has some big disadvantages and that the support from teams and manufacturers isn't unanimous.The teams are currently splitting into two camps. McLaren-Mercedes and Honda are on Ecclestones side. Toyota and Williams disapprove a break away series without the FIA. Ferrari are sitting on the fence: "We will not comment before all facts are on the table." said press officer Luca Colajanni. Ferrari assume that there will be further revelations in the course of the Mosley scandal. BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen is similarly carefull: "I do not have a clear picture at the moment", and he adds:"From all available scenarios a break away series is not the first option."
Champ car was run under FIA rules.Johan wrote:For me, the whole idee s*cks, because Bernie and the FIA know it's impossible. With impossible, I mean it's absolutely not good for the money. But if they split-up, 1 serie will have the same problems as the Champ Cars.
This quote makes it obvious that the meetings in Montreal failed to even produce a unified draft for a concord agreement. The chances to start a break away series look indeed slim if Bernie and the teams cannot even agree on what they want the FIA to sign."We have talked about a new concord agreement yesterday and this morning for almost three hours. I did not get the impression there that Bernie thinks the teams are in his way. Today we have at least made it clear that we want to achieve it. Of course it will take time to find a common position but the intention is there. I would prefer to have the FIA on board in a role clearly defined by the concord agreement. But before we can ask them we would have to put a proposal on the table."
"Certainly there is a power struggle going on and it will carry on for a few more weeks before we see what direction it takes,"
So, are the manufacturers, title sponsors and teams in F1 now between the proverbial "rock and a hard place" with a "choice" between the feuding Mosley/Ecclestone duo and the News Corp. behemoth? It wouldn't be an admirable position to behold or be in and makes for a deeply unsettling view of the future. This could explain Bernie's willingness to get a rid of Max; if he is to compete with Murdoch's wiles the FIA - if the FIA is to remain useful and in the picture - cannot afford alienating the AAA, ADAC, or other clubs on which the legitimacy of the FIA really relies on, for much longer.Gordon Kirby wrote:There's also a growing belief within some corners of the F1 paddock that Mosley, Ecclestone and the FIA are so embroiled in their own egos and politics that they have not noticed their real opposition is not so much the enemy within, but Rupert Murdoch. The Australian media tycoon owns many newspapers, including the UK's Sunday Times and News of the World, and both currently are engaged in suits with the FIA.
Murdoch also owns Sky TV in Europe and Fox in America, both of which are heavily committed to NASCAR and for the first time this year all thirty-six NASCAR Sprint Cup races are being televised live across Europe on Sky. Some people believe Murdoch is poised to take advantage of the current political upheavel in F1 to expand NASCAR's global television market. Other longtime observers of F1 think Murdoch may be positioning himself to buy CVC Capital Partners, the holding company that owns F1.
So as Robert Kubica and BMW bring a refreshing new flavor to F1, the ongoing battle for political and financial control of the sport also appears to be entering a new era. At this stage, nobody is prepared to place any bets on how it's all going to shake out.
this confirms that Bernie is under pressure from CVC as the German media have said beforeThe previous day Ecclestone had been able to get one London newspaper to write a story suggesting the posibility of a 'breakaway series' but he denied ever saying such a thing and also took the opportunity to rip one well-known reporter's tape recorder from his hands and hurl it across the floor.
It's impossible to read Ecclestone who wears a deadpan expression much of the time, but he looked a seriously troubled man in Montreal last weekend.
You are mistaken my friend. It is the FIA Formula 1 world championship. The FIA is the owner. FOM only has the commercial rights to exploit it. They paid 310 million $ for that right from 2010 to 2110. They would not pay if they were the owner. They have only leased it.modbaraban wrote:Why GP1? Formula1 brand is property of FOM not FIA
so the times are now using the Nazi connotation (which was very likely fabricated by their sister paper NotW)to increase pressure, that's strongFrom The TimesJune 16, 2008
Formula One can bypass the Max Mosley gridlock, says Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone is seen in the paddock before the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix
Edward Gorman, Motor Racing Correspondent
Bernie Ecclestone has spoken openly for the first time about the possibility of a breakaway by Formula One from the FIA as the sport remains paralysed by the breakdown in his relations with Max Mosley. Ecclestone has so far distanced himself from direct endorsement of rumours that some Formula One teams would like to set up a new championship outside the auspices of the FIA and Mosley, its president. But in an interview with The Times this weekend, Ecclestone speaks about it as a possible way out of the impasse.
In remarks that will be seen as part of the continuing bout of megaphone diplomacy between Ecclestone and his former friend, the Formula One rights holder gives warning that the teams are free to do as they please in the absence of a new “Concorde Agreement” between them and the FIA the Formula One governing body.
“What the FIA doesn't have, which is the most important thing for them, is an agreement with the teams which they would have with a Concorde Agreement,” Ecclestone said. “The teams can do what they like. At the moment what we are trying to do, to keep sponsors happy, is say we can't break away, but it could well be that that will happen. There is no agreement between the teams and the FIA. There is a commercial agreement that has been signed by the teams and FOM [Ecclestone's company], so the teams can do what they like.”
The source of Ecclestone's frustration is twofold. On the one hand he no longer makes any attempt to hide his view that Mosley should stand down in the wake of revelations about his private life; on the other he is becoming increasingly frustrated by Mosley's refusal to enter into negotiations on a new Concorde Agreement and the FIA's determination to enlarge its influence over the way the sport is run.
In his interview with The Times, Ecclestone went on to suggest that the lurid newspaper allegations, strongly denied by Mosley, of Nazi role-playing between Mosley and several prostitutes was damaging the substantial Jewish investment in Formula One.
Mosley believes Ecclestone is trying to wrest control of the sporting regulations from the FIA and wants to remove the FIA's veto over who Ecclestone could sell the business to. The two men are also at loggerheads over Mosley's determination to have a greater say on how the income from Formula One - worth thousands of millions a year - is divided up. Ecclestone will have none of it. “Max has nothing to do with finance,” he said. “The FIA has a clear, clear, clear agreement and signed agreement with the European Commission that they are the regulators of the sport. They are not anything to do with money. If Max comes back and says we should give more money to teams, I will tell him to mind his own bloody business.”
Ecclestone believes the crisis is inflicting commercial damage on the sport. “It's time-wasting,” he said of the refusal of Mosley even to talk to him. “People don't know what's going on,” he said. “So if you are a big, big organisation, you don't know what decisions to take. I am responsible to our shareholders, who have an awful lot of money invested. And I am responsible to all the teams and the manufacturers, who have an awful lot of money invested. Max is responsible to the people in wherever who have got no money invested and nor has the FIA got money invested - all they've got is money that comes from Formula One [£30 million a year]. If there was no Formula One, the FIA would be in serious trouble.”
Ecclestone added that Jewish investors are extremely unhappy. “They say the FIA shouldn't let somebody like Max represent them,” he said.
Btw, I find curious the timing of this ruling (June 2007) and the problems about the new Concorde that seem to have been developing between FOM and FIA.LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One bosses failed to secure exclusive rights to the sport's 'F1' abbreviation on Thursday after the Trademark Registry ruled against them.
Registry Official David Landau, relying on evidence from media coverage and online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, found that the public would recognise Formula One as a type of sport rather than a brand name.
"As Wikipedia comments, F1 is the highest class of single-seat, open-wheel formula auto racing. There is no hint in the Wikipedia references to indicate that F1 is seen as anything other than a particular form of motor racing," he said.
Landau said the fact that the Formula One Group was the only organisation organising F1 races "does not mean that the public will perceive F1 as a trademark.
"It just means that currently it enjoys a monopoly on the races. However, if private owners of F1 cars race them on a friendly basis is that not an F1 race, if not on a commercial basis?"
He rejected the trademark application by the Group's commercial rights arm, Formula One Licensing BV (FOL), and backed opposition to the move by motor racing news organisation Racing-Live SA.
).