That's awsome!!! Anyone know if team sponsors must be approved by FOM? I suspect they do... just wonder if/how B&M would prevent it...
Surprise! Hey Ronnie I cant believe that you would side with those to A-holes. Ferrari is using their Veto. Only they are using it on this side of the fence and keeping the other teams in line.....right behind them. There is more to this than you know. They want Max gone. They want more share in the profits. Do you really think that all the teams should get half of the profits and one man gets the other half? Where are we living here? Well Max still thinks its 1940 Germany but he will soon get the drift as he hears the bombers overhead.
+1! Very well said SRT_Mike! Finally a bold move by the FOTA .. I sincerely wish that can execute this one right! Governance is the main issue, and the way the FIA's been single-handedly messing with the formula each year makes me totally disgusted. In the name of cost savings, Max imposed many changes that wiped out previous technical investment! That alone cost many more millions of development each year! There's also the pockets issue. While Bernie's been lining up his own pockets with the commercial rights, his stranglehold of revenue sharing and withholding of the funds adds towards anger. Also, leaving North America completely (still a huge market for the manufacturers' racing purpose is marketing) added salt to the wounds. I'm sincerely happy. I have no intention watching a GP2 that's branded as F1. Where Ferrari, Mclaren and Brawn go, I go!
Ahhhh the often used "bringing the sport into disrepute" catch-all that allows $100mm to be stolen from McLaren on Max's whim, yet doesn't apply to orgies with hookers dressed as german prisoners. Yet another example of the lunacy of the current governance system, and why FOTA is demanding it be changed, or they're out.
I hope tomorrow remains as today. The Squirmers are hatching a cunning plan right now..... Image Unavailable, Please Login
As much as I would like to see FOTA break away, I fear this is just a ploy. I do think, though, that this will bring BeMax to heel, that MM will retire at the end of the season, and that there will be some transition of power away from BE. These guys have over-stayed their usefulness to the sport and should go. I see the FOTA getting a lot more say in how the sport is managed. Sorry, BeMax, but the boardrooms far, far away from Knightsbridge and Kensington have the power now. Jack.
Speaking of budget caps. Just imagine the huge dollars being spent on attorneys right now. I sure you could run a championship Nascar team off it.
It's doable. It's not easy, but it's doable. Make an agreement with 10-15 tracks, Sell the rights to TV station. Agree on rules and design cars. Go racing. They'll be not as profitable as F1, but they don't need to give mega-$$$ to Max and Bernie.
The BBC today... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8108488.stm Here's the interesting part... it looks like they've already gotten all the sponsors to follow FOTA. But, they want to LOWER Ticket prices too! "It has become clear, however, the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 world championship." Fota added that its championship would put F1 fans first and boast the best drivers and sponsors. "This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders," added the statement. "The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series." ALSO: The politicing must be fast and furious now with the other teams to get them to join one side or the other: "The FIA had set a Friday deadline for five teams - Brawn, BMW-Sauber, McLaren, Renault and Toyota - to convert their provisional entries into unconditional ones or risk being excluded."
This is what F1 has to offer/"sell". There is nothing else. BernieMax, FOM, and even the FIA offer nothing SUBSTANTIAL. The King is not wearing any clothes.
I hope this really happens. This might mean F1 racing will be back in the US, Canada and Silverstone. I also hope they'll choose to race on tracks where passing is actually possible unlike Bernie's boring BS venues. It'll be interesting to see if Bernie will actually survive this, his faulty ticker must be stressed to the max. Now Nico will need a new ride... But I don't believe this is a done deal yet.
There is a God. I think the startup costs for this will be mitigated by the lack of an Ecclestone & Mosley pocketing $100's of millions that would otherwise be invested. Either way, I just earmarked a couple grand to catch one of their new races. Hope this happens!
Two words to get an instant sell out of 100K + customers PLUS prime time TV coverage and sponsorship in the US market: LONG BEACH. But, the bad news.... No more Ferrari at Monaco.
I guess everyone won't be crying at this weekend's race since it won't be the last one at Silverstone?
Farewell to the poison dwarf. About time. Max and Bernie rigged the whole set-up to get rich. Worked for Bernie and apparently Max can afford a few hobbies, too. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. We have seen it and good riddance to the both of them. Taz Terry Phillips
Great news; everyone has been fed up with the fia/Bernie/max troika for too long. This is 1981 all over; Luca beats Max.... Kevin
I figured I should read all responses before posting. This is the crux of the FOTA's threat to depart. They want to take control away from BernieMax...I just wonder what took them so long. The way F1 is being run is seemingly about as inconsistent and un-transparent as you can get. I always thought that these were the factors that made this threat VERY real. F1 SHOULD be bigger than the guys running the sport...it feels more like it's a 1950's record company where there are two sets of books and changeable rules to benefit the guy(s) running the show.
