Check this out. What you think about this? World motor racing chief Max Mosley revealed on Thursday that a billion dollar boost from Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone will pull the sport out of its current state of infighting. Mosley, president of the FIA, believes F1 will only get stronger in years to come despite teams being at loggerheads over how best to proceed with disagreements over cost-cutting and how to make the sport more attractive to fans. The Englishman revealed a package worth up to a billion dollars is on offer for teams to sign up to Formula One from 2008 onwards. "I think Formula One has never been in better shape in the years I have been here," said Mosely despite only World Champions Ferrari having committed themselves to a new agreement with Ecclestone, who holds the sport's commercial rights. "In 2008 the teams are effectively going to get 50 percent of the entire income of Bernie's companies. That is 50 percent of gross income and all the outgoings he has to pay out of his 50 percent," added Mosley. "That is a substantial income and in addition from 2008 there will be backdated payments for the years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 which will be spread over the five years of the new agreement." "The increase from 2008 is enormous - if they sign up. It's somewhere between 500million dollars and a billion to be shared out between the teams, it's in that order. It will certainly be significant." Mosley feels Ecclestone's latest offer to the teams will be enough to head off continued plans to launch a breakaway series in 2008. Renault, McLaren and Williams are tied to the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) group, who still threaten a new series if their commercial demands are not met by Ecclestone. But Mosley is convinced a rival championship will not now go ahead, claiming the cash needed to just match Ecclestone's offer makes a new series economically impossible. "I don't think there will ever be two championships," he said. "The reality is that sooner or later it will be sorted out. The difference between Bernie and the GPWC is that Bernie has contracts with promoters, with television companies and with Ferrari which go beyond 2008." "The GPWC have no contracts and their position is very weak because promoters are going to play them off against each other. The brand of the Formula One World Championship has become significant. Bernie has that, he has Ferrari and the contracts." Ferrari received extra money by virtue of being the first team to sign up to a new deal with Ecclestone, as well as their unrivalled history in Formula One. That preferential arrangement, which also exists in the current commercial deal, has upset some rival team bosses, but Mosley insists Ferrari give good value for the extra money they receive. "There is no doubt Ferrari, at least in the last 10 years, have been worth more than the proportion they get of the money given to the teams," he added. With Red Bull and Midland moving into the sport with vast budgets, the future looks brighter for two of Formula One's strugglers. Jaguar have already been re-branded in honour of their new owners Red Bull and Jordan will follow in deference to Midland at the end of this season, moves Mosley believes have safeguarded the sport's immediate future. "It looks healthier than I can remember because of those two people coming in," said Mosley. "We had a big crisis in Japan, China and Brazil when two teams were on the point of going out of business and two more were in danger. The financial crisis which was threatened last autumn has disappeared." The 2005 F1 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 6. Source AFP http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html
I think that this is a good thing. Every time there is a split of a major series good thing often don't follow. The teams must realize the cost of building and supporting a worldwide series that competes with F1, without Ferrari, would be an astronomical mountain to climb. The monies involved in the new offer seems worthy of a extention to the current agreement.
