Maybe this is the way out of the current FIA/FOTA war: Next Wednesday the WMSC will vote in Paris over whether they want to keep Mad Max in power or not. If they vote him out, Jean Todt is already rumored to be the next president. Source: Roger Benoit, Swiss Blick http://www.blick.ch./sport/formel1/ferrari-provoziert-die-revolution--121887 At that point I could clearly see a path to peace and the whole storm might just blow over.
+1 Maybe this is the reason he went AWOL from the Ferrari pit a while back...... He may just have enough "respect" around the paddock to pull it off as well IMHO.
The way i look at it, teh only way to prevent the breakaway, is for Mosley to get the hell out. But JT? I really doubt we'll see a former Ferrari CEO in charge of the sport. I'd say Eddie Jordan, or Paul Stoddart.
Jean Todt has been rumored for years... I don't think he would necessarily be a bad choice, but I am not sure he's a great one. He's definitely a weasel who plays politics and spouts transparent BS when it suits his needs. I think if he could take over under the banner of reconciliation, and modify FIA rules to suitable standards, then this could all be resolved. Mosley bribed (monetarily or otherwise) many of the WSMC members to keep him in power. I have no doubt that there are activities afoot to sway the WSMC members away from voting for Mosley. I would be utterly ecstatic if he was booted in disgrace.
I agree with the above posters, getting rid of Max and installing a new chairman that has FOTA's respect is the single way out. Think about the possible new series. They'd need someone at the top too, and I guess that Jean Todt would be one of their first choices. Yes, he's a Ferrari guy, but he's smart, and I think they'd rather choose someone of their own, than a relative outsider like Eddie Jordan.
Sie dürften überrascht werden, wie Jean Todt tatsächlich der FIA regieren würde. Sogar müsste er die ausgabe von kostenreduktionen und dem potenziellen verlust von existierenmannschaften anreden. Wenn Todt kommen sollte, schließen sie der FIA als sein präsident, ich denken an, dass er warten würde, bis dieses durcheinander beendet wurde. Dann gibt es die möglichkeit die es geben ein identisches Ichgeklirr mit LdM, LdM der mit Max Mosley gehabt wird. Yah, das es nottenlikelyen.
Todt would be a great choice; Jordan & Stoddart would be terrible. While they are great personalities, I envision non stop clashing with either of them...
Andreas, you have to admit that "Ichgeklirr" might not make any sense, but has a certain aesthetic value
What I said was das es notten likely en. Too close to a single team too recently, the potential of a similar clash of egos with LdM as did Mosley and LdM. And, having met Todt, he is really bright, he would have to be into S&M or just crazy to come into the FIA at this time. That old saying, you can't please everybody, would be true here. And there is that Brit/French thing, most teams are GB based. If I were Todt I would wait until October when Mosley is retired. I think the best suggestion came from SRTmike, I think it was Michael, a strong business individual to run the FIA. I would suggest someone from one of the ancillary sides of motorsports, like someone from Pirelli, or Michelin, Shell, even Goodyear. No matter who it is, they will have to have a huge ego and run the show with an iron fist. Fair rules and regulations with a preagreed timeline, but take no crap from the teams. Make it against the sporting rules to have private agreements as was done with Ferrari. It has to be the FIA or the highway. Sorry, but a race series is not intended to be a democracy because someone will always want to negotiate something behind closed doors. Also, he must have a security guard that makes sure no one is following with a video camera.
A CRAZED GORILLA IS BETTER THAN WHAT IS THERE NOW ANYONE PLEASE JUST ANYONE I DON'T CARE JUST GET RID OF HIM
I'm sure Todt and LdM would still be butting heads to a degree, after all he was quietly shown the door over an impropriety.
First off before assigning a new FIA leader, I would question what is it they should actually have to do in there job description. Max has made expanded his FIA power base waaaay above it's call of duty IMO, and this should be addressed before anyone takes over. In others words define what is the FIA there to do.
+1 OTOH, MM no doubt has some "dirt" on many of these clowns - It's simply the way some people do business as we know. I have a really bad feeling he has ,to use your phrase, "activities afoot to sway the WMSC" - I *really* hope I'm wrong and FOTA are garnering support, but never underestimate a mad man..... Cheers, Ian
+1 Having said that, their "true" role, before being corrupted by MM, *is* actually pretty well defined [In combination with the evil pygmy of course.] - In fairness, they've been doing it for >50 years [Which I know is the point of the anti-pirate people btw - "Tradition old chap!" "No one else could do it" Blah blah. ] Trouble is, IMHO, MM has, as you said, usurped and corrupted the "steering committees", "appeals courts" etc - Even the whole damn organization. Can it be saved? I dunno......
If I had a vote, I'd vote to been done with FIA/F1. Be done with the greedy pygmy and the perv. both gone... The teams ARE the sport. they provide the show... No reason for a promotor (BE) to skim 50% off the top... No reason to race in Turkey to 30K spectators (except to line the promotors pocket) No reason to change the rules completely every season... Time for the teams to control the sport... The comparisons to the IRL/CART split carry no weight with me... Find a F1 Fan in support of the FIA (OK, Ron...)... There is no split. so in march 2010, 1 Billion people will tune in to watch the FOTA teams race... And 6 will watch the 2010 F1 (Bernie, MaXXX, Ron, Frank Williams, Vijay Mallya, and peter windsor) If FOTA returns to F1 it should be on their terms... Take it or or leave it
Several things, all important IMHO: - give authenticity to the series, making it official - define the rules and regulations for F1 and all other racing series - by doing so, assuring that F1 remains king on the hill (read: slowing down other series if necessary) - keeping everything safe and sound - keeping it fair - keeping it entertaining A pirate series could do a lot of those things, but they could not: a) control any other series b) give it authenticity Many have said, that F1 is where Ferrari and all the other teams are and where Monaco ends up with (which is funny given how many on here complain each year about that race, but I digress). If the world were black and white, I would agree with that definition, but give it a couple years and you'll end up with grey on either side. Then what? Then you're there where boxing is today. Which is pathetic. I only want one world champion.
a) So what? No one (on a global scale) watches any other series - Outside of (to a small degree) Indy and Le Mans. Last I checked, they weren't run by the FIA either...... b) Is where I hear what you're saying - *Except* these guys are different - They've got the "world" supporting them - It would immediately become the championship to win. The boxing analogy we already addressed somewhere. IMHO.
Excuse me guys but isn't the biggest news that they are taking a vote period? If Max loses F1 is saved.
You don't think that Max's exit would get meaningful negotiations going? IMO it would allow every one to step back from the brink and start over.
Didn't see the boxing analogy addressed. But that's really where the problem lies (assuming they're even capable of staging their own series, which I still don't believe: We will end up with multiple series each claiming to be the king of motorsports. As I said before: As long as all the manufacturers are in one group along with all the top drivers and tracks like Monaco, it is easy to say who is king. But as time will pass the inevitable will happen (as it did in boxing): Some runner up to the championship will go to the other series hoping for the title there. More will follow, maybe even some teams. At some point you will have equally prestigious teams and drivers in either series. Then what? Who is the real champion then? You won't be able to tell anymore.
That assumes that the specs will remain sufficiently similar between formulae. IMO they will diverge quickly and comparisions won't be any more valid than they are between F1 and Indy Car drivers today.
