THE FIA has confirmed it is to issue legal proceedings against the Formula One Teams' Association following its threat to begin a breakaway series.
The eight members of Fota – Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso – announced last night they would not sign up to next year's F1 world championship, and instead would now pursue a rival series.
Fo
llowing meetings between FIA president Max Mosley and F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone in the Silverstone paddock yesterday ahead of tomorrow's British Grand Prix, motorsport's world governing body has now decided legal action is its only recourse.
Confirming its intentions, a statement read: "The FIA's lawyers have now examined the Fota threat to begin a breakaway series. The actions of Fota as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including willful interference with contractual relations, direct breaches of Ferrari's legal obligations and a grave violation of competition law.
"The FIA will be issuing legal proceedings without delay. Preparations for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship continue but publication of the final 2010 entry list will be put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights."
The delay in confirming the entry list for next season will be welcomed by those who still hope a compromise deal can be brokered, although the FIA's reference to Ferrari in its statement only serves to highlight the complex nature of the rift.
As far as the FIA is concerned, Ferrari, plus Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso, are contracted to enter F1 in 2010, hence the reason they were given an automatic entry by motorsport's world governing body last Friday.
Ferrari have long maintained, however, that contract, signed in 2005, was invalidated by the FIA when it failed to recognise the Scuderia's right of veto over the new regulations.
Mosley unilaterally announced the introduction of a voluntary £40million budget cap at the end of April without consulting the teams, most notably Ferrari, who have since played a leading role in Fota's discussions with the governing body.
The FIA had earlier reacted with disappointment to Fota's breakaway announcement.
"We are disappointed but not surprised by Fota's inability to reach a compromise in the best interests of the sport," said the FIA. "It is clear that elements within Fota have sought this outcome throughout the prolonged period of negotiation and have not engaged in the discussions in good faith. The FIA cannot permit a financial arms race in the championship, nor can the FIA allow Fota to dictate the rules of Formula One."
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner insists Fota were left with no alternative but to launch a breakaway series.
"The positions have hardened on both sides," said Horner. "The teams feel they have gone as far as they can, and the FIA feel they have gone as far as they can. We've ended up in a situation where a solution hasn't been found. So we've no alternative (but to launch a breakaway] because if we can't race in Formula One under the current rules, and if you want to keep competing, then you've got to look at something else."
Asked if it was the end of F1 as we know it, Horner said: "Perhaps being the eternal optimist, never say never."
Mosley's handling of the situation has given way to barbed criticism, most notably from three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart.
The FIA president is due to confirm by the end of this month whether or not he intends to stand for a fifth term in office, with his present mandate due to end in October, but Stewart has demanded the 69-year-old stand down in the past and believes the blame for this latest crisis lies at Mosley's door.
"It's a bad thing to have a split, but I think that has been forced upon the teams, particularly the large multi-national corporations involved in it," said Stewart.
"When you're talking about Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Ferrari and Renault, these are big companies that feel they are being pushed around by the governing body in a way that is inappropriate.
"I think they do want Max to go because I think frankly some of the decisions made over the years have been very questionable, and a lot of people are kind of fed up with the dictatorial attitude. The trouble is Max has gone too far with this. It may well be that Max Mosley has to go. He has a great position of power, but big trees do blow over."
Stewart feels it is the teams who are in a position of strength at present and that Mosley must be the one to yield, something he has never done in the past.
"Whether there are further negotiations, who knows, but they (the teams] seem to be very well joined up," added Stewart. "I think Max has to give quite a lot because the teams have come to realise that economically they can manage their own business quite well, thank you very much.
"The FIA often say they are not the commercial arm of F1 and the money side of it is not their business. But right now they are making it their business and that is why there has been the fall-out. I hope in some way that they can come to some agreement.
"Bernie Ecclestone must surely play a part in this as well because he has the commercial rights. He has to also influence Max on how he goes about his business. He has been doing it with a very imperial role for probably too long. But empires do come to an end, as Julius Caesar found out."
TEAM LISTSBREAKAWAY TEAMS
• Ferrari
• McLaren
• Renault
• BMW Sauber
• Toyota
• Brawn GP
• Red Bull Racing
• Toro Rosso
LINE-UP FOR 2010
• Williams
• Force India
• Campos Grand Prix*
• Manor*
• US F1*
*Denotes a new team
HISTORY SHOWS THAT BREAKING UP CAN BE HARD TO DOWE TAKE a look at other cases of breakaway or rival tournaments within sport over the years.
FOOTBALL
Perhaps the most successful breakaway in sport, the Premier League was formed in 1992 when teams from the then First Division opted to split from the Football League and capitalise on television revenue. The move has seen the division become the world's most profitable.
RUGBY
In 1895 clubs in the north of England voted to split from the amateur Rugby Football Union and therefore be able to pay their largely working-class players. As a result, the Northern Union was formed, later called the Rugby Football League.
BOXING
The formation of several governing bodies in professional boxing, each with their own 'world' titles, led to the sport becoming farcical with no officially recognised undisputed world champions. Such breakaways have been successful for the bodies involved, but have left the public confused and disinterested.
CRICKET
Australian media magnate Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket, formed after a row over TV rights in 1977, saw top players from the global game defect from their national teams to play in the lucrative new competition. After a lukewarm reception early on, the series blossomed and changed the sport with improved payment for players and the creation of one-day cricket as we know it today
DARTS
After the withdrawal of TV funding in the late 1980s there was a growing unrest among the game's leading players. In 1992 they broke away from the British Darts Organisation to form the World Darts Council, later called the Professional Darts Corporation. Today, the PDC is the more successful and highly rated.
The full article contains 1290 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
