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F1 rebels ready to oust Max Mosley in power struggle
David Smith19 Jun 2009
The rebel Formula One teams who intend to set up a breakaway championship want FIA president Max Mosley ousted before they are prepared to discuss the future of a sport which is now in complete disarray.
A mood of defiance in the pit lane at Silverstone ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix confirmed the teams are committed to running their own series next year in opposition to that of the FIA, the sport's international governing body.
FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association) are in no mood for further negotiations unless the Mosley era is brought to an end and they feel certain that Formula One power-broker Bernie Ecclestone will fall into line with their own vision of the future.
But Mosley will not go down without a fight. The FIA chief today threatened the FOTA rebels with legal action — singling out Ferarri for “a grave violation of competition law”.
Nevertheless Sir Jackie Stewart, the former three-times world champion who has the ear of team principals and major sponsors, is in no doubt that teams want Mosley out and will not be put off by the threat of legal action.
Stewart, himself a former team owner, said: “I think they do want Max to go because I think, frankly, some of the decisions made over the years have been very questionable.
“I think a lot of people are kind of fed up with the dictatorial attitude. The teams have realised they can manage their own side of their business, thank you very much.
“Bernie Ecclestone must play a part in this. He has to influence Max Mosley on how he goes about his business. He's perhaps been doing it with an imperial air for too long. The teams, now, don't have to do anything. They've made their decision. It's up to the FIA now.”
FOTA, made up of Ferrari, Brawn, McLaren, Renault, BMW-Sauber, Toyota, Toro Rosso and Red Bull, are insisting that Mosley's plans for a £40million budget cap should be ditched. Sources within the group also suggest they want guarantees that Ecclestone will stop selling races to the highest bidder, betraying some of the sports major sponsors who say they are being forced to visit parts of the world where there is limited interest in their products.
Unless that is addressed, there is concern that sponsors will pull out of the sport, which will then struggle to survive. There is also concern that Ecclestone's global expansion plans, taking in new races in the Middle East, the Far East and Asia, are going ahead at the cost of traditional grands prix, expecially in western Europe, which have huge fan bases.
The official attendance for the Turkish Grand Prix a fortnight ago was said to be 20,000, which in itself is dismal.
But it is now believed that figure has been exaggerated and that the true number of tickets sold was closer to 7,000.
FOTA wants to maintain a presence at circuits where there is genuine enthusiasm for the sport.
Organisers of the British Grand Prix are expecting a three-day attendance at Silverstone of 250,000.
But it could be the last world championship race in this country if an Ecclestone-backed move to Donington Park next summer falls through.
Yet far from signalling he was prepared to bow to FOTA demands, Mosley authorised a new, strongly-worded statement this afternoon which noted: “The FIA's lawyers have now examined the FOTA threat to begin a breakaway series.
“The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including wilful interference with contractural relations, direct breaches of Ferrari's legal obligations and a grave violation of competition law.
“The FIA will be issuing legal proceedings without delay.
“Preparations for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship continue but publication of the final 2010 entry list will be put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights.”
Reader views (24)
Mark my words, the day Bernie Ecclestone leaves , F1 will crumble like a castle of cards!The others who covet his place, don´t have the brain or the nerve to get on with the job!
- Fiona, Rio de Janeiro-Brazil, 21/06/2009 13:33
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Doesn't Mosely get it? Everybody is sick of him and the sport would be much better without him. Why doesn't he just go, and take Ecclestone with him.
- Jj, London, 20/06/2009 22:25
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Mosley should prick up his ears to the comments here , otherwise he could face a short , sharp ,painful shock.
- Chris M, morbihan,france, 20/06/2009 21:59
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I think Ian, Shenzhen, PR China hs it about right Moseley needs to go away
- Mazzy, london, 20/06/2009 18:48
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Seems to me that it is FOTA who care about the future of the sport and want to see the right things done to maintain it at the pinnacle of world motorsport. Ecclestone is clearly only interested in his own pocket and Moseley, who ought to have been summarily booted out years ago, is borderline bonkers
- Matt, London, UK, 20/06/2009 17:51
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its only good when the track is wet run it over 2 races on the day say 45 mins each race like world superbike.you need binoculars if you spectate at silverstone dreadfull circuit glad they're altering it .
- C May, bromley, 20/06/2009 16:23
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This is the start of a war on political correctness. I am with Ferrari on this one, I hope and expect them to win this. Moseley in particular is an embarrassment in more ways than one!
- Ian, Shenzhen, PR China, 20/06/2009 14:20
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I hope the teams succeed in breaking away and setting up a new F1. The current F1A is a parasitic promoter, gives nothing to the fans or sport and is only interested in maximising profits for the greedy venture capitalist who "own" F1.
- Nick, London UK, 20/06/2009 12:11
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Mad max.
The sport needs a change at the top. Every year, max and bernie come out with more stupid rules and regs. Look at the daft tyre choice last year as an example. Rather than use a tyre that is safe to race on, the teams had to use two compounds so putting their cars at risk of crashing.
What next?
- Alex, Scarborough, 20/06/2009 09:06
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Great news! This most boring of "sports" may disappear.
- Alan, Chigwell.UK, 19/06/2009 20:46
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How could anyone sit in a meeting and take this person seriously.I know I couldn't. I wonder just how much unspoken disapproval of his asinine behaviour , both on and off the job , has brought about this rift.
- Chris M, morbihan,france, 19/06/2009 18:57
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Just a couple of points. A change at the top in F1 is long overdue, love him or hate him Max has been there too long, often being criticised negatively and rightly so for his decisions. The new circuits were unnecessary and a sop to Bernie's friends, there is no real love for F1 in those countries; often with appalling human rights records.
- William Ear, Waltham Cross, 19/06/2009 18:19
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Mosley will strike a compromise where both sides appear to win,also having a bit of a shuffle to allow some teams to withdraw without too much loss of face.The major teams will then be in a position to effect Mosley's exit when the 'money' has been agreed!!
- Tithonus, Athens Greece, 19/06/2009 17:27
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Moseley & Ecclestone seem to forget that the Teams ARE Formula 1. The FIA will really shoot themselves in the foot if they proceed with legal action - but then neither Moseley or Ecclestone have been noted in the past for their good judgement (witness the decision to move the British GP from Silverstone to an unfinished track at Donnington). Bring on the alternative events. I sincerely hope FOTA don't back down. The vast majority of F1 fans will be totally behind them
- Malcolm, London, 19/06/2009 16:20
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What people fail to realise is that a lot of the techincal innovation we take for granted in modern cars is direct result of the boundaries being pushed by F1 teams. If they were given the mandate to produce an electric racing car (say with a 3 year implementation plan) I'm sure we would see leaps and bounds in the electric/hybrid technical revolution. F1 has always been at the forefront of innovation (anti-lock brakes, semi-automatic gearboxes, lighter manuf. materials, fuel injection etc etc)and I'm sure they still would be. Mr Mosley should have gone a long time ago after he embarrassed the sport and his "bully-boy" tactics may well have back-fired.
- Ajw, London, UK, 19/06/2009 14:39
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Chris Brighton..why are you even reading this story if F1 does not interest you?
- Gordon, Yorkville, NH, 19/06/2009 14:27
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Yes let there be a split. Ecclestone and Mosely have had it too easy for too long. They haven't been listened to the teams
- Edwin, Beaconsfield, Bucks, 19/06/2009 14:17
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who cares.....more overtaking done in the que for the burger vans
- Jacko, west london, 19/06/2009 14:05
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I appreciate your point Paul and I realise that just because I don't like something that's not reason enough to ban it (shame!). But I just don't see the point of F1.
Also fossil fuels WILL run out and we should be looking at ways of making what's left last a lot longer. Finally, just because it supports a lot of jobs is no reason to keep something that's ultimately unsustainable going. Couldn't all those clever people use their brains and their resources for something better eg overcoming the problems associated with electric cars? Not as exciting I know, but it will be appreciated a lot more in 20 years or so!
- Chris, Brighton, England., 19/06/2009 13:13
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Anything to see Ecclestone's nose rubbed in it, he's had his way far too long. Let's hope the rebel teams can make something of it and tell the FIA where to go!
- Stuart, Ferndown, UK, 19/06/2009 12:53
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Chris, Brighton - you don't have to watch it! It also supports a surprisingly high number of high tech UK jobs, and that can only eb a good thing.
- Paul, London, 19/06/2009 11:29
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Given that oil is a scarce resource and becoming scarcer aren't there better things it could be used on than Motor Sport? What anybody sees in this so called sport is beyond me. To adapt the SAS moto 'who spends wins'.
- Chris, Brighton, England., 19/06/2009 09:43
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Mosely has blown it big time. No one is going to watch his mickey-mouse series next year.
- Paul, London, 19/06/2009 09:20
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It is about time that the stranglehold on Formula 1 of Ecclestone and Mosley was broken. Ecclestone did a brillant job in the past in making F1 the biggest motor sport attraction. But he has been incredibly greedy and along with Max Mosley dictatorial.
F1 without Ferrari Mc Laren and the others is unworkable.
Ecclestone's stand on Silverstone is ridiculous. This country makes most of the world's racing cars and it is unthinkable that there will be no GP at Siverstone. France has a very proud motor racing history. This year there is no French GP. Why because of Ecclestone's greed.
No doubt we will see Paul Ricard circuit being used sson.
- Simon Wells, BRENTWOOD ENGLAND, 19/06/2009 08:37
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