FERRARI'S F1 FUTURE: Board To Decide May 12

Neat idea, but I do not see Ferrari doing LeMans. Ferrari does not do diesel, and Ferrari would not be happy winning only it class, they would want to win overall. There was some sort of Fiat decision last year that Ferrari would concentrate on F1, Alfa Romeo would do LeMans and the ALMS in the 8C, and Maserati would become the luxury car division with no more racing participation. Obviously the economy changed a lot of plans, Alfa running the ALMS was to coincide with the introduction of Alfa to the USA. Pinninfarina was hired in some form to run the LeMans entry, which also did not happen.

I really can not imagine Ferrari leaving F1 unless their was an incredible world economic crisis that eliminated corporate profits.

I think this statement best describes the current atmosphere in F1:

"Whenever change has been required the teams have cried Armageddon: Parc Ferme, engine freeze, V10s to V8, KERS... On each occasion there were those who claimed that F1 would fall apart. These experiences tend to make the FIA more resilient to all the hysteria. People don't like change."

 

The wording:

Ferrari has confirmed that it will not enter next year's world championship unless plans for a voluntary £40 million budget cap are changed.

Although the team has expressed private reservations about the rule changes and governing processes for 2010, it finally confirmed its intentions in a statement issued following a board meeting at Maranello on Tuesday afternoon.

"The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of the FOTA's endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula 1 are the priorities for the future," said the statement.

"If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula 1 World Championship."


JG, I interpret this as meaning the budget caps are OK as long as all the rules are the same for everybody. No two tier system. FOTA, and Luca, have already agreed to budget cuts, it was FOTA that came up with the $40L mill cap.

 

Seems without new teams entering F1, F1 will die a slow death. With, or without Ferrari.

If Mercedes leaves, not because of a disagreement with FIA rules, but because of other reasons as their board has indicated, what happens to McLaren and Brawn? Do they both run to Toyota and hurt Williams? In this case, where does Williams go? Or do they hope that they can make a Cosworth competitive?

What if corporate philosophy changes at BMW, and they bolt? How long will Force India remain?

I personally believe that another team quitting F1 for financial reasons is a very real possibility. If Frank Williams becomes too ill to run the team, who will take over or will Williams disappear from the grid?

The point is, F1 needs new teams, and that will happen ONLY if a new team comes in with the idea that they can be competitive. Otherwise, why enter a sport if you can not deliver for your sponsors? And why enter a sport that may find itself with diminishing starting grids? The only way to attract new teams is with a budget cap. As long as there is an equitable way to phase in such budget caps, I have no argument with the FIA's position. If Ferrari has a problem with the actual concept of a budget cap, and not only the way it is implemented, then they are being self serving and they should look for the exit door.

This is not the 1970's or 1980's. As JG stated, these are strange times.

 

Ferrari is not leaving F1, they are threatening to leave if certain proposed rules are not changed to their liking:


The complete not out of context statement:

Ferrari has confirmed that it will not enter next year's world championship unless plans for a voluntary £40 million budget cap are changed.

Although the team had expressed private reservations about the rule changes and governing processes for 2010, it finally went public with its intentions in a statement issued following a board meeting at Maranello on Tuesday afternoon.

"The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of the FOTA's endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula 1 are the priorities for the future," said the statement.

"If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula 1 world championship. "

Entries for the 2010 world championship close on May 29, with Toyota and Red Bull's two F1 teams having already announced in public that they will not enter if the rules remain unchanged.

It is thought likely that the other manufacturer teams will also join a 'boycott' of lodging an entry by the deadline - with only the current independents Brawn GP, Williams and Force India outfits set to apply.

As with other teams, Ferrari's main cause of concern is the possibility of a two-tier F1 - which would come into force should some teams adopt to run under budget cap restrictions next year while others choose unrestricted finances.

Regarding the FIA's World Motor Sport Council meeting on April 29 that ratified the 2010 regulations, the Ferrari statement said: "Although this meeting was originally called only to examine a disciplinary matter, the decisions taken mean that, for the first time ever in Formula 1, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters.

"The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula 1 in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari's uninterrupted participation in the world championship over the last 60 years – the only constructor to have taken part ever since its inception in 1950 – would come to a close."

Although Ferrari is totally opposed to a two-tier F1 system, and has questioned whether or not it is possible for a £40 million budget cap to be introduced next year, the Italian outfit is also concerned about governance of the sport.

As well as being unhappy about the way the rules were pushed through last year, Ferrari thinks there has not been enough consultation with the teams.

"The Board also expressed its disappointment about the methods adopted by the FIA in taking decisions of such a serious nature and its refusal to effectively reach an understanding with constructors and teams," added the statement.

"The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula 1 over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations."

In light of the developments regarding next year's entry, Ferrari said its president Luca di Montezemolo had been told to look at alternative activities for the racing team.

"Ferrari trusts that its many fans worldwide will understand that this difficult decision is coherent with the Scuderia's approach to motor sport and to Formula 1 in particular, always seeking to promote its sporting and technical values," said the statement.

"The Chairman of the Board of Directors was mandated to evaluate the most suitable ways and methods to protect the company's interests."

Despite Ferrari's strong stance, the FIA said earlier today that it was optimistic a solution to the matter could be found soon. Di Montezemolo is expected to meet with FIA president Max Mosley in the next few days to discuss the situation.

 

NASCAR, they run V8's not diesels.

 

My prediction, is that Ferrari will agree to budget caps phased in over a multiple year period, no two tier system but there will be a way to govern the budgets, and Ferrari will not leave F1.

 

Andrew, I do not believe they want out because of budget caps. Keep in mind thta FOTA recommended the $40L mill number, and Luca is the head of FOTA. Ferrari, and other teams do not like the idea of a two tier system where teams the voluntarily comply with the budget cap receive preference in the rules. They want the rules to be the same for all teams.