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[scotty]

Force India lodges unconditional entry

By Jonathan Noble Friday, June 5th 2009, 14:29 GMT

Force India has become the second team to break away from the hardline stance of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) and lodge an unconditional entry for next year's championship, the team confirmed on Friday.

Following a day of speculation about whether Force India would stand firm in its alliance with FOTA's conditional block-entry to next year's championship, the outfit announced in Turkey that it had been forced because of 'commercial obligations' to go it alone and review its conditional application.

Although the decision means that eight current teams are holding out on entering F1 only if they are happy with the regulations, and a new Concorde Agreement is in place, Force India insisted that its decision was not a snub at FOTA.

A team statement said: "While the Force India team is broadly in agreement with the FOTA objectives, commercial obligations have demanded that Force India review its conditional entry jointly submitted by FOTA on deadline day.

"This has been done today with full transparency between all parties. The details of the team's position will be discussed between Dr. Vijay Mallya and FOTA vice-chairman John Howett tomorrow. No further comment will be made until those discussions have taken place."

The decision by Williams and Force India means that those teams could be the only current outfits that are granted an entry to the 2010 championship when the decision is made next week by the FIA about which teams to accept.

FOTA's remaining members have said that they will remain united in their decision about plans for 2010 - meaning that either all of them or none of them will enter next year.

Toyota F1 president John Howett, who is vice-chairman of FOTA, said on Friday that Force India would now probably join Williams in being suspended from the teams' organization.

"It is likely they may be suspended," explained Howett. "I haven't really had the opportunity to speak to Vijay directly, but he has committed in accordance with FOTA a conditional entry and apparently, due to commercial issues, totally unrelated to another team or support, they felt obliged because of other binding legal activities due to funding or other issues, they needed to submit an official entry.

"He will be here tomorrow and I will speak to him, and I have to say it is the intention of FOTA to suspend them based on a face-to-face discussion with Vijay. But he has confirmed to me through Bob Fearnley that he is totally supportive and committed to FOTA."

First Williams, now Force India... who will be next?

[7UpJordan]

Force India lodges unconditional entry

By Jonathan Noble Friday, June 5th 2009, 14:29 GMT

Force India has become the second team to break away from the hardline stance of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) and lodge an unconditional entry for next year's championship, the team confirmed on Friday.

Following a day of speculation about whether Force India would stand firm in its alliance with FOTA's conditional block-entry to next year's championship, the outfit announced in Turkey that it had been forced because of 'commercial obligations' to go it alone and review its conditional application.

Although the decision means that eight current teams are holding out on entering F1 only if they are happy with the regulations, and a new Concorde Agreement is in place, Force India insisted that its decision was not a snub at FOTA.

A team statement said: "While the Force India team is broadly in agreement with the FOTA objectives, commercial obligations have demanded that Force India review its conditional entry jointly submitted by FOTA on deadline day.

"This has been done today with full transparency between all parties. The details of the team's position will be discussed between Dr. Vijay Mallya and FOTA vice-chairman John Howett tomorrow. No further comment will be made until those discussions have taken place."

The decision by Williams and Force India means that those teams could be the only current outfits that are granted an entry to the 2010 championship when the decision is made next week by the FIA about which teams to accept.

FOTA's remaining members have said that they will remain united in their decision about plans for 2010 - meaning that either all of them or none of them will enter next year.

Toyota F1 president John Howett, who is vice-chairman of FOTA, said on Friday that Force India would now probably join Williams in being suspended from the teams' organization.

"It is likely they may be suspended," explained Howett. "I haven't really had the opportunity to speak to Vijay directly, but he has committed in accordance with FOTA a conditional entry and apparently, due to commercial issues, totally unrelated to another team or support, they felt obliged because of other binding legal activities due to funding or other issues, they needed to submit an official entry.

"He will be here tomorrow and I will speak to him, and I have to say it is the intention of FOTA to suspend them based on a face-to-face discussion with Vijay. But he has confirmed to me through Bob Fearnley that he is totally supportive and committed to FOTA."

First Williams, now Force India... who will be next?

I wouldn't be surprised if Brawn were next.

[myownalias]

I predicted this would happen; Williams, Force India and Brawn entering the 2010 season unconditionally; I half expect McLaren to lodge an unconditional entry before the 12th. Also it seems that Force India will be suspended from FOTA for their actions; FOTA remaining united by excluded teams that enter unconditionally, FOTA united; I think not!

[8-ball]

I think FOTA have to swallow their pride and admit Max is right (for once). Spending is way out of control and unless they can come up with a better way to dramatically curb costs then there will be disunity between the smaller teams and bigger teams.

Concede this issue now and wait till 2012 when the Concorde agreement is up then come back and FOTA will be in the strongest position.

[headless]

Yep it is crumbling

[EwanM]

Just like with the FOCA and the FISA... all over again.

[bud]

As long as Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes are in FOTA then it's not crumbling!
Force India can leave, Sad about Williams but they are no longer a major player, and I see Brawn staying put too!

[Hanwombat]

^

Yeah Force India leaving is hardly them crumbling

[EwanM]

It will be if every other team breaks ranks expect from say Ferrari, Toyota and Mclaren.

[GarethStr]

I hope some agreement can be reached as an F1 without the big guns wouldn't be the same. I cant see Red Bull breaking away from FOTA either.

[myownalias]

It will be if every other team breaks ranks expect from say Ferrari, Toyota and Mclaren.

But three teams don't make a FORMULA ONE TEAMS ASSOCIATION and who said that McLaren will quit? No-one from McLaren has uttered the words "we'll quit if the budget cap happens in 2010". McLaren Mercedes are the only team to really try to compromise from what I have read in media reports; Mercedes Norbert Haug suggesting a €100m cap for next year falling to €45m in 2011 which I thought was being put forward to the FIA but that isn't the case it seems after reading Ferrari and Toyota statements.

I'll be surprised if Ferrari walk away from F1 especially if they loose the support of half the FOTA teams; two have already broken ranks; how long before more break ranks?

[EwanM]

It will be if every other team breaks ranks expect from say Ferrari, Toyota and Mclaren.

But three teams don't make a FORMULA ONE TEAMS ASSOCIATION and who said that McLaren will quit? No-one from McLaren has uttered the words "we'll quit if the budget cap happens in 2010". McLaren Mercedes are the only team to really try to compromise from what I have read in media reports; Mercedes Norbert Haug suggesting a €100m cap for next year falling to €45m in 2011 which I thought was being put forward to the FIA but that isn't the case it seems after reading Ferrari and Toyota statements.

I'll be surprised if Ferrari walk away from F1 especially if they loose the support of half the FOTA teams; two have already broken ranks; how long before more break ranks?

Well I stated "say Ferrari, Toyota and Mclaren" purely as an example.

[myownalias]

Either way I believe Toyota are just out to disrupt F1 before they bid farewell; Ferrari won't leave F1; it's posturing plain and simple; the big boys throwing their weight around. I believe that this is a battle FOTA can not win; a breakaway series is unlikely in my opinion; I don't believe it will be a viable option with a couple of big names like Ferrari and maybe McLaren, Red Bull don't bring any sporting pedigree to a new series. McLaren is much like Williams just better funded; they are first and foremost racers born in F1, if Mercedes were to pull out of F1; they'd just continue with another engine supplier. I believe only Williams, McLaren, Ferrari and now Brawn GP have F1 truly coursing through their veins and will never actually leave F1 because it's what they do; those teams go racing in the pinnacle of motorsport!

[headless]

We will see by Friday probsably.

[scotty]

Some good insight in this article!

Brawn pledges commitment to FOTA

By Jonathan Noble Saturday, June 6th 2009, 17:19 GMT

Ross Brawn has pledged his total commitment to the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA), ending speculation that his outfit could follow Williams and Force India in lodging its own entry to next year's championship.

Williams has already been suspended by FOTA, with Force India set to receive a similar punishment, for having lodged their own entries for next year independent of the conditional applications made by FOTA's other eight members.

With Force India having acted in Turkey this weekend, there had been rumours that Brawn could be next to go it alone and enter unconditionally too.

However, speaking about the matter is Istanbul on Saturday, Brawn made it clear that his team was not wavering in its commitment to FOTA's cause.

"I understand Frank's position, Frank had contractual agreements with Bernie and the FIA which we don't have, so he had some difficulty in that respect," said Brawn about the impact of the Williams entry.

"But the existence of this team was dependent on the support of FOTA teams - McLaren and Mercedes in particular are the reason why we are here, and I think the FOTA initiatives are good.

"We seem to have had a disconnection in terms of liaising and negotiating with the FIA, and that has perhaps been the problem because FOTA has got a lot of good ideas and the FIA has got a lot of good ideas. Hopefully those ideas will be brought together to find a solution.

"We seem to have disconnected somehow in this process and what we need to do is reconnect, and I feel that I want to be part of FOTA. It is a good initiative and I feel I can help more towards finding a solution being a member of FOTA than I can stepping out of it, so I intend to remain within FOTA."

Brawn said he did not expect any other FOTA members to join Williams and Force India in breaking away from the block conditional entry pact.

"I don't think so, I don't see it going any more than that," he said. "Force India had their reasons which you will have to ask them about, and Frank had his reasons. And it was obviously more difficult for them.

"But I don't see it fracturing any more, and there is a whole lot of work that FOTA does that is not just this current controversy. There is a whole raft of technical proposals that we have for 2010 which we intend to save a lot of money.

"Next year the FOTA proposal is that we only have three bodywork upgrades during the season – what you start with and then two upgrades during the season. That saves an enormous amount of money because any time that you are doing new bodywork, you are doing this and you are doing that, it is very expensive.

"FOTA proposed homologated gearboxes at 1.5 million Euros for next season, FOTA members are providing engines for teams for 5 million Euros next year, all of those are FOTA initiatives. There is some great stuff that FOTA is doing, we just need to move away from the confrontational situation that we have got in with the FIA."

Although the FIA and FOTA currently appear to be in a stand off ahead of next Friday's announcement about which teams have got entries to 2010, Brawn remains optimistic the matter could get resolved.

"I think there are interim solutions, but quite clearly if next Friday 10 [new] teams are given an entry in F1, then there is a problem because there is no room for the rest of us. And I don't know what will happen then.

"I hope it doesn't happen because if 10 teams are given an entry then there is a major problem. Even if it is a holding position until we sort this out, I hope we can find a solution."

So Brawn are staying aligned with FOTA, even if they don't necessarily agree with their way of going about business. Anyway... I italicised the bits i found most intriuging:

- 3 bodywork upgrades per season huh... i'd like to know how that'd work.
- His point about the new teams being given entry over existing teams. Does anyone think that would happen? I could see why it could maybe happen for some manufacturer teams, not for the likes of Ferrari and McLaren though.