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Saturday May 16, 2009

Formula One teams prepare for crisis talks with FIA president

LONDON: Formula One teams prepared for crisis talks with world motorsport head Max Mosley yesterday to try and stave off the threat of world champions Ferrari and others walking away.

In what amounts to a high-stake game of blink, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) president and 10 teams face off with each side adamant they are not bluffing and seemingly determined to out-stare the other.

The FIA want an optional £40 million cost cap, offering greater technical freedom than available to those teams staying on unrestricted budgets, that they say is needed for the sport’s survival in the face of the global financial crisis.

Disgruntled: Renault team boss Flavio Briatore can’t wait to talk to Max Mosley.

Ferrari say that will lead to a two-tier championship that they cannot accept. They, and former champions Renault, have said they will leave at the end of the season unless the regulations are re-written.

Toyota and Red Bull’s two teams have also said they cannot submit their entries by the May 29 deadline for the same reasons.

Formula One needs Ferrari but the Italian glamour team also need the sport, something that commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been at pains to point out, and some sort of compromise may be inevitable.

“I must be clear that we, Ferrari and the others have no intention of breaking with FIA,” Renault team boss Flavio Briatore said on Thursday. “We want to be there, to participate, to preserve the future.”

With all eyes on the sport for the showcase Monaco Grand Prix next week, a key race for business and sponsorship deals, the teams will want to remove the doubts about the championship’s future as soon as possible.

The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA), chaired by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, were holding a meeting of their own at a Heathrow airport hotel before facing Mosley and Ecclestone in the afternoon.

While the teams are expected to remain united in opposition to a two-tier Formula One, several would-be newcomers have expressed an interest in joining the championship if the cap stays in place.

Chassis maker Lola said in a statement that they were forging ahead with their project in the expectation of the budget cap remaining.

“The Lola Group believes that the... decisions relating to cost-capping and the provision of revised technical regulations to facilitate the entry of new teams into Formula One should be embraced,” it said.

“This is not only prudent considering the backdrop of global economics but also taking into account the need for new teams to be able to compete credibly against long established entrants.

“It is imperative that performance breaks be afforded to new cost-capped entrants who will have a limited period in which to form teams, design and manufacture their cars.”

Retired triple world champion Jackie Stewart disagreed and said the FIA had “no business” telling teams how much to spend.

“What has the FIA got to do with the economics of motorsport?,” he told the Daily Express newspaper. — Reuters


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