F1 Compromise Deal Sees End Of Mosley Reign
The future of F1 has been saved for now after the FIA agreed a compromise deal over the governance of the sport with the F1 teams, including the introduction of a £40m budget cap, on the provision that Max Mosley step down as president of the world motorsport governing body when his current term of office expires in October.
The two parties had been engulfed in a bitter and lengthy row over planned budgetary and technical changes for the 2010 season which led to FOTA, the representative body of the F1 teams, threatening to launch its own breakaway series.
However it appears a resolution has now been found and, as part of the deal, Max Mosley has agreed not to stand for re-election as president of the FIA.
Announced Mosley: ‘There will be no split, there will be one F1 championship. We have agreed to a reduction of costs. The objective is to get back to the spending levels of the early 90s within two years.’
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone added that he was ‘very happy common sense has prevailed’ following a meeting of 120 members of the FIA in Paris aimed at resolving the crisis.
Ferrari chief president Luca di Montezemolo, head of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA), added: ‘I think the decisions we have shared this morning are important. We will have the rules of 2009, same rules for everybody. It means that we have stability.
‘I think Max Mosley has done a very good fix of the problem. When you have reached an agreement everyone has to help in the same way.’
Ahead of the meeting, Mosley had insisted that he would not step down as part of any potential agreement and might even seek re-election as head of world motor sport.
However, it appears Mosley has now agreed to move aside when his fourth term as FIA president ends in October, saying: ‘I will not be up for re-election, now we have peace.’
Furthermore, writs that had been threatened against Ferrari and the other teams in FOTA – McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP – are likely to be shelved.
However it appears that Mosley’s individual power had been the most unsettling factor in the whole dispute with Ferrari issuing a statement reading: ‘The FIA’s World Motor Sports Council has approved all FOTA’s proposals. The objective is to avoid continuous changes decided by one person alone.’
However, Mosley sought to play down suggestions he had bowed to FOTA’s requests, saying: ‘I know it’s an old cliche but everybody’s won. What we wanted was to get new teams into F1. We’ve got new teams in, which we haven’t been able to do for 10-15 years, and at the same time got costs down so independent teams are profitable
‘If they’re happy with what they have got, fine, I’ve won what I wanted. As far as I’m concerned the teams were always going to get rid of me in October, well they still are. Whether the person who succeeds me will be more to their liking remains to be seen.’
The agreement ends two months of wrangling since Mosley announced after a World Council meeting at the end of April that a voluntary £40m budget cap would be imposed from next season – a plan that prompted a rebellion from eight teams.
As part of the agreement, existing teams must also help new outfits – Campos, US F1 and Manor – with their engines and chassis.
