Ferrari to leave F1 in 2010 if FIA doesn't change the rules

[Weasel 555]

Granted, in the turbo era McLaren were frontrunners and Ferrari went a decade without a win - and we can't have that now, can we...

Yeah we can tis always good to see Ferrari squirm

[RayfieldsWRX]

I think that there was a ban on refueling at some time in the past, because Steve Matchett will occasionally refer to it in his commentary. Not a huge deal to me, as long as it doesn't yield a format that is non-competitive, or no fun to watch. Probably safer for the teams.

I'm undecided about the 2-tier thing...but I think that F1 would be pretty strange without all of the teams that are protesting.

[SD_GR]

In the turbo era refueling bans were used to almost, just maybe, but not quite reign in horsepower. The teams survived them then, they can survive them now. They just don't want to try.

I watch TV broadcast news from Europe via sat. (homesick) and today's evening newscast presented the story as done; that is, they said Ferrari withdrew from the 2010 season, not will withdraw. Granted, it could be lost in double translation or it could be inaccurate newscasting (or wishful thinking on the channel's part...).

One interesting statistic: Ferrari are the only team to commit to all seasons since inception of the series in 1950, and of the 700+ Grands Prix held since then, they've won 200+. Remarkable. It would no doubt be a loss to the series and to motorsport in general if they were to withdraw.

[Weasel 555]

^very true....

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anyway quitting in F1 is becoming more "fashionable"

Renault just added themselves to the list:
The FIA's proposed budget cap for Formula One has continued to throw the sport into disarray after Renault become the fourth team to reveal it won't enter the 2010 season unless changes to the plans are made.

Just a day after Ferrari's Board of Directors revealed the Italian giants would walk away from the sport if the proposed rules remain unchanged, Renault has now followed suit with a statement explaining that 'the decision to introduce two sets of technical regulations' has led it to 'reconsider' its entry into the new season.


click: Crash.net Renault joins F1 quit

[cavallino333]

I think had we seen the FIA propose a more reasonable cost cap it may have been accepted, but $40million isn't even close to half of what these guys spend a season. Secondly (and maybe it's always been this way) but in the last few years the FIA has again and again proposed drastic rule changes that 1. the teams didn't want, 2. the fans didn't want to see, 3. they frequently backfired. At this point they are seemingly making decisions independent of reality, or of the opinions of anyone who is actually racing or watching the races. I think that's as much to blame as the two tier rule system.

[josnroh]

Update: Ferrari releases statement on court ruling.

Ferrari failed in its attempt to obtain an injunction from a French court to block the FIA World Motor Sport Council from introducing new Formula One regulations next season, including technical freedoms for teams choosing to operate under a $62 million (£40 million) budget cap.

Lawyers representing the FIA and Ferrari argued their cases Tuesday afternoon in front of Judge Jacques Gondrand de Robert at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris. The court issued its decision Wednesday, stating that Ferrari had offered "no valid reason" for the 2010 regulations not to be implemented.

Ferrari is expected to appeal the ruling, which means that the matter is unlikely to be resolved before the May 29 entry deadline for the 2010 World Championship. Unless the maximum 13 teams apply before that date, the entry list will remain open, but on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ferrari threatened to quit F1 if the new rules are introduced, on the basis that they effectively would create a two-tier series. Similar positions were then adopted by Renault, Toyota and both Red Bull teams. In a meeting with the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) last week in London, FIA president Max Mosley made it clear that he also wanted one set of regulations for all--but insisted that this would be the new budget-cap regime.

The Tribunal de Grande Instance is the nation's superior court with jurisdiction for civil matters, in which litigants are required to be represented by a French lawyer. For the FIA, Hugues Calvet told the court that neither Ferrari (nor any team) had jurisdiction to create or approve international motorsport regulations, which rest solely with the FIA. He added: "These regulations are vital to the survival of Formula One and are not discriminatory. They absolutely do not prevent Ferrari from signing up." Calvet dismissed the incentives on offer to teams accepting the budget cap as merely "a small carrot."

Calvet backed up the FIA's arguments by producing a number of letters from companies with F1 aspirations, complaining that Ferrari's litigation was disrupting their plans and pointing out that there were only a few days before the closing date for entries for next season. All stated that they wished the decisions of the World Motor Sport Council would be respected.

These companies were reported to be Campos Racing, Epsilon Euskadi, Formtech, iSport, Lola Cars International, RML (Ray Mallock Ltd.), USGPE and Wirth Research.

Emmanuel Gaillard, the French lawyer representing Ferrari, had told the AFP news agency: "This is a coup de force [by the FIA] which involves changing the rules of the game. It's as if in the 100 meters, one [athlete] has to run 100 meters and another 80 meters, but the one who runs 80 meters has to carry a sack on his back. The FIA offered us a fait accompli. The annual budget of a big team is between 400 million and 500 million euros [$547 million to $684 million]. We're talking about a reduction in costs of 80 percent to 90 percent. It's quite simply impossible."

Ferrari also claimed that it has had a right to veto proposed F1 regulations since 1998, but that this was being ignored by the FIA. The governing body countered by conceding that the Italian team had had such a right, but that it effectively surrendered it by becoming centrally involved in the formation of FOTA. The FIA also pointed out that Ferrari had an opportunity to exercise its veto in March and had not done so.

FOTA, which last week left its meeting with Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone saying that it would propose a cost-saving alternative to the budget cap, is scheduled to convene in Monaco on Friday.

PRESS RELEASE: Ferrari's reaction to court ruling

Ferrari has noted the verdict of the Tribunal de Grande Instance with regards to the request to suspend with all haste the consequences of the decision taken by the FIA World Council on 29th April.

The existence and validity of Ferrari’s right of veto, as sanctioned in a written agreement with the FIA Senate, were recognized by the Court, as was the fact that this dispute is of a contractual nature. Consequently, it was also recognized that the dispute was not a matter for the internal tribunal of the FIA, but rather a matter for normal civil courts. The Court believed that the right of veto should have been exercised during the World Council meetings of 17th March and 29th April. It therefore chose to let the civil law courts rule on the urgency of the matter.

Such a decision, which is not prejudicial to the outcome of the matter, allows the FIA to impose on those teams entered in the 2010 world championship, regulations that have been drawn up unilaterally without respecting the agreed procedures. In the final analysis, Ferrari has been forced to use its right of veto, in defence of its own interests and those of all the teams participating in the Formula 1 World Championship.

While continuing to evaluate whether or not to continue with this legal action already underway, Ferrari confirms its commitment to work within FOTA in conjunction with the FIA and the Commercial Rights Holder to ensure that Formula 1 is a series where the rules are the same for everyone and which benefits from stability in the regulations, while continuing the work of the past few months in moving forward methodically and gradually towards reducing costs.

If it is not possible for all parties to reach agreement, then in line with the decision of the Main Board, taken on 12th May, Ferrari will not enter its cars in a competition that, with the planned scenario in place, would see a watering down of the characteristics that have endowed Formula 1 with the status of the most important motor sport series and that have specifically led to the Maranello marque’s uninterrupted participation in the world championship since 1950. In this situation, Ferrari will continue to compete in races of a calibre worthy of the marque, matching its level of innovation and technological research.

[pzr2874]

MPG ?? NEXT they are gonna attack NASCAR.... wth

[josnroh]

Ferrari issued a statement responding to Wednesday's decision by a French court to reject its request for an injunction against the FIA's plan to introduce a budget cap in Formula One next year.

Ferrari argued that not only did the FIA act improperly in its unilateral decision to impose the cap, but that the Italian automaker holds the right to veto such regulation changes.

Ferrari said it is considering whether to continue its legal action in civil court, but stressed again that it has no intention of competing in F1 if the proposed regulations remain in place. Ferrari pledged to continue racing in another series that fits its motorsports philosophy, if a satisfactory agreement with the FIA cannot be reached.

The matter is to be discussed again this weekend between the FIA and the Formula One Teams Association

PRESS RELEASE: Ferrari's statement

Ferrari has noted the verdict of the Tribunal de Grande Instance with regards to the request to suspend with all haste the consequences of the decision taken by the FIA World Council on April 29th.

The existence and validity of Ferrari's right of veto, as sanctioned in a written agreement with the FIA Senate, were recognized by the Court, as was the fact that this dispute is of a contractual nature. Consequently, it was also recognized that the dispute was not a matter for the internal tribunal of the FIA, but rather a matter for normal civil courts. The Court believed that the right of veto should have been exercised during the World Council meetings of March 17 and April 29. It therefore chose to let the civil law courts rule on the urgency of the matter.

Such a decision, which is not prejudicial to the outcome of the matter, allows the FIA to impose on those teams entered in the 2010 world championship, regulations that have been drawn up unilaterally without respecting the agreed procedures. In the final analysis, Ferrari has been forced to use its right of veto, in defense of its own interests and those of all the teams participating in the Formula 1 World Championship.

While continuing to evaluate whether or not to continue with this legal action already underway, Ferrari confirms its commitment to work within FOTA in conjunction with the FIA and the Commercial Rights Holder to ensure that Formula One is a series where the rules are the same for everyone and which benefits from stability in the regulations, while continuing the work of the past few months in moving forward methodically and gradually towards reducing costs.

If it is not possible for all parties to reach agreement, then in line with the decision of the Main Board, taken on May 12, Ferrari will not enter its cars in a competition that, with the planned scenario in place, would see a watering down of the characteristics that have endowed Formula One with the status of the most important motor sport series and that have specifically led to the Maranello marque's uninterrupted participation in the world championship since 1950. In this situation, Ferrari will continue to compete in races of a caliber worthy of the marque, matching its level of innovation and technological research.