The cracks in the unity of the Formula One Teams Association, FOTA, are continuing to show.
After talks broke down in Japan just over a week ago, the next round of meetings will take place in Abu Dhabi next month. The main bone of contention is the cost-limiting resource restriction agreement, with some teams – but primarily Red Bull – suspected of swerving around the gentleman’s pact.
A recent audit by company Capgemini involved visits to the Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Sauber and Williams factories.
Auto Motor und Sport reports that after the visit to the unnamed ‘Team 4′, the auditors had to write the words “no information” in almost every column.
“The allegations will only stop when all the teams agree to any inspection,” Mercedes’ Ross Brawn is quoted as saying.
The concern is that FOTA will have to abandon the resource restriction agreement amid turbulent economic times, or even fold the Geneva-based organisation altogether.
Red Bull chiefs last week dismissed the allegations as “gamesmanship”.
“This year it has moved away from the car to the RRA (agreement) which gets a little bit boring after a while,” team boss Christian Horner is quoted by the Guardian.
“It is almost inevitable within the sport that there are those areas of gamesmanship.”
Source:GMM
