FOTA Walk Out Of FIA Meeting

All 8 teams in FOTA walked out of a meeting with the FIA.

The meeting was at the Nurburgring to discuss next years rules and budgets. However the FOTA members left during the meeting when the FIA cheekily told them that they had not entered the 2010 championship so they had no voting rights on any of the technical and sporting (money) issues.

FOTA said in a statement that it "puts the future of Formula 1 in jeopardy". The eight FOTA teams - Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP - say they have entered the 2010 championship and assumed all was well. Which is what the consensus was in the pit lane before the FIA dropped this bombshell.

"It will be remembered all eight active FOTA members were included on the 'accepted' entry list as endorsed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and communicated by FIA press statement on 24 June," stated FOTA. FOTA also "requested a postponement of today's meetings".

FOTA went on to say: "This was rejected on the grounds no new Concorde Agreement would be permitted before a unanimous approval of the 2010 regulations was achieved. However, it is clear to the FOTA teams that the basis of the 2010 technical and sporting regulations was already established in Paris. As endorsed by the World Motor Sport Council and clearly stated in the FIA press statement of 24 June 'the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April, 2009'. At no point in the Paris discussions was any requirement for unanimous agreement on regulations change expressed. To subsequently go against the will of the WMSC and the detail of the Paris agreement puts the future of Formula 1 in jeopardy. As a result of these statements, the FOTA representatives at the subsequent Technical Working Group were not able to exercise their rights and therefore had no option other than to terminate their participation. The FOTA members undertook the Paris agreement and the subsequent discussions in good faith and with a desire to engage with all new and existing teams on the future of Formula 1."

The FIA added: "Unfortunately, no discussion was possible because FOTA walked out of the meeting." Formula 1's Williams and Force India were present as well as the three new teams, Campos Grand Prix, Manor and US F1.

What a mess! The FIA seem unable to stop annoying the FOTA. You imagine being invited to a meeting in which anything you voted on or suggested could not be used. Why go? Why be invited? It seems the FIA want to destroy the peace between the FOTA and the FIA. Lord only knows why the FIA are doing this. The only thing I can think is they are stalling the FOTA so they don't have time to set up a separate championship and have to go without racing or join the FIA's Formula One World Championship.

Sadly my hunch that the war was not yet over has proven correct. Watch this space for all sorts of goings on! The odds of FOTA actually leaving and going through with their threat of a different championship has just gone up several fold!