2010 Formula One Rules Announced By FIA

The FIA have published their 2010 sporting regulations and technical regulations today.

The articles, posted on the official FIA website (Sporting: Click Technical: Click ) outline some new rules, most notably qualifying regulation.

Q1 and Q2 will now see 8 cars demoted out of each session, with 10 cars being able to run in the final Q3 portion.  These cars in Q3 will run in the low fuel format as seen this season to allow for the fact that no refuelling may take place during the race itself.  The 8 car rule comes in as 3 new teams, Campos, Manor and USF1 are joining the sport.

Another important point to note is the lack of change to the point scoring system, meaning that Bernie’s silly medal system is out of the window completely.

Tyre warmers will be allowed despite previous indications from the FIA being that they would be banned.  Minimum car weights have been increased to 620KG to allow for the KERS system, despite all teams saying they will run without the power boosting systems for 2010 to allow a level playing field.

Also worth noting is the lack of two tier racing.

F1 Teams And FIA Finally Agree On 2009 Concorde Agreement

Formula One finally hit peace last night between the FIA and FOTA teams, when Max Mosley signed the new 2009 Concorde Agreement.

FOTA, the teams association, previously said they were going to split from the FIA and F1 over Max Mosley’s beligerent rule changes and constant rule changes.  However after a serious of meetings, many of which containing heated moments, the FIA announced this morning that a new agreement securing the F1 future was signed.

“Following approval by the World Motor Sport Council, late last night FIA President Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, heralding a renewed period of stability for the FIA Formula 1 world championship,” said an FIA statement.

“The WMSC has also approved a slightly revised set of stable sporting and technical regulations (to apply from the 2010 championship onwards), which have been agreed by the FIA and the teams and which will be published shortly on the FIA’s website.

“The new Concorde Agreement, which runs until 31 December 2012, provides for a continuation of the procedures in the 1998 Concorde Agreement, with decisions taken by working groups and commissions, upon which all teams have voting rights, before going to the WMSC for ratification.”

All of the teams are signed up, except BMW who are have another 4 days onto which to sign an agreement of a place next season.

A meeting will take place soon to discuss more cost cutting measures.

BMW Sauber To Leave Formula One At The End Of 2009

BMW have announced that their Formula One team, BMW Sauber will not be competing in F1 beyond the end of the 2009 season.

It is a bitter blow for the German/Swiss team which had seen gains through 2007 and 2008, but have suffered with a poor car in 2009.

The team were formed after BMW, who had supplied engines to Williams from 2000-2005, decided to buy out Peter Sauber’s small but successful Swiss team, Sauber based in Hinwil.  They took over, and in 2006 they had an average season with Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve at the wheel.  In 2007 they were much more competitive with Robert Kubica partnering Heidfeld.  In 2008, Kubica recorded the teams first victory in Canada, a circuit where a season before RK left in a medical helicopter following a horror shunt.

Dr. Norbert Reithofer, chairman of BMW said this morning: “Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment,” he said.

“Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula 1 campaign is thus less a key promoter for us.

“Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motor sports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula 1 racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this.”

There are lots of unknown’s following today’s ruling.  The team is likely to be put up for sale, and could be bought by one of the teams who failed to get into F1 such as Lola or Prodrive or perhaps by a new investor looking to buy a going concern.  The latter would secure jobs, but if the slot is made available then the jobs will be lost.  Epsilon Euskadi has expressed interest in taking the slot of the team if they fold altogether.

Robert Kubica is a very talented and young driver, and although he stated he is keen to try his hand at rallying it is likely a big team will buy him in.  Williams could be looking for a Nico Rosberg replacement, McLaren are looking for a replacement for Heikki Kovalainen or perhaps if Massa will not drive in F1 again and Alonso doesn’t have a contract with the Italian’s he could make a shock move to Ferrari.  Nick Heidfeld on the other hand is far more uncertain, and at his age he might struggle to get another drive on the back of always promising good things but never really delivering.

Rossi Would Drive 3rd Ferrari In New Series

Valentino Rossi has been quoted as saying he would happily drive a 3rd Ferrari race car if one was fielded in the potentially new FOTA racing series.

Everyone thought that the FIA/FOTA war was over as Max Mosley brought the rules for 2010 back to the 2009 ones, said there would be more continuity and also declared he would step down in October at the end of his term as FIA president.

However these promises were thrown into doubt after British newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph produced an open letter sent from Mosley to Luca di Montezemolo the head of Ferrari and the FOTA that he could well stand for another term.  Christian Horner said this morning that another war between FOTA and the FIA would be terrible for the sport, but it looks likely the battle’s could begin once again.

Rossi, who just won his 100th Motorcycle Grand Prix has driven for Ferrari twice before, most recently last year impressing with the 2008 car on the Mugello circuit.  He has also dabbled with World Rally Championship.  His contract with Yamaha motorcycles ends in 2010 and a 2011 race car seat could be beckoning.

“I am quite happy about it, it could happen in 2011 — why not?” Rossi was quoted as saying by Corriere Dello Sport

“In 2010 I have a contract with Yamaha so it would be difficult or even impossible. What’s more, Ferrari do not have a third car and I have taken no decision about changing sport,”

Refuelling Ban Still On For 2010 Despite FOTA/FIA Agreements

The refuelling ban set out by the FIA as part of it’s eleborate new rule system for the 2010 season will still go ahead despite the majority of the new regulations being binned after FOTA/FIA agreement talks for FOTA team involvement in the 2010 Formula One Season.

The teams are fairly positive towards the refuelling ban due to the high cost of transporting refuelling equipment around the world, and also some accidents which have led to large fires, such as Jos Verstappen’s memorable pitfire at Hockenheim 1994, Eddie Irvine 1995 at Spa and Michael Schumacher’s at the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix when despite flames licking the car he still went on to win the Grand Prix.

A source within FOTA said this was still on track, despite 2009 rule revisions for 2010.

The source said: “There will be a few amendments to the rules that need to be agreed unanimously. This will be about refuelling and a few other items, and should be completed in the next few weeks.”

A pitfire for Gianmaria Bruni's Minardi in 2004

Just wanted to add, R.I.P Michael Jackson – King of Pop who sadly died yesterday evening of a cardiac arrest.

FIA/FOTA War Over As Agreement Made At Last Minute

An agreement between the FIA and FOTA has been made at the last moment in an emergency meeting called in Paris today.

With all FOTA member teams present, along with members of the FIA, including the contraversial Max Mosley who also said today he will not stand for another term as president, a deal was reached for a single racing series – F1.  FOTA will now not breakaway from the standard formulae.

The concorde agreement of 1998 will be continued, along with new rules which agree to cost cutting over the next few seasons.  Technical assistance will also be offered to the three new teams allowed into F1, USF1, Campos and Manor.

“There will be no split,” said Mosley. “We have agreed to a reduction of costs. There will be one F1 championship but the objective is to get back to the spending levels of the early 1990s within two years.”

“They’ve got the rules they want and the stability; we’ve got the new teams in and the cost reduction…so that’s very helpful.”

Mosley added “As far as I’m concerned, the teams were always going to get rid of me in October.  Well they still are.”

The official statement from the FIA read;

“The manufacturer teams have further agreed to the permanent and continuing role of the FIA as the sport’s governing body.  They have also committed to the commercial arrangements for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship until 2012 and have agreed to renegotiate and extend this contract before the end of that period.

“All teams will adhere to an upgraded version of the governance provisions of the 1998 Concorde Agreement.

“As part of this agreement, the teams will, within two years, reduce the costs of competing in the championship to the level of the early 1990s.

“The manufacturer teams have agreed to assist the new entries for 2010 by providing technical assistance.”

The teams and FIA made a unilateral agreement for the future...

Surfers Paradise For FOTA’s 17 Round Calendar?

As the rumours continue to hot up over FOTA’s breakaway series from F1, one which looks ever increasingly likely Surfer’s Paradise was one of the tracks banded around as a possible venue for a GP.

The track in Queensland, Australia is an exciting street track which could be known as the Pacific GP as Adelaide was mentioned as the possible Australian Grand Prix event location.

Surfer’s, a place which considered taking the F1 race from Melbourne late last year as it’s future dwindled has previously hosted CART and ChampCar events and this year hosts a round of the A1GP Championship by Ferrari.

The owner of the track seemed welcome to the idea, especially if they charged less than Bernie Ecclestone wants for F1.

“We couldn’t do this sort of bid on our own but if Queensland Events backed us we would be very interested,” said Ron Clarke.

“There is the chance this breakaway group might not charge as much as the original series organisers,” acknowledged Clarke.

Other circuits mentioned for the FOTA Racing Series included Jerez, Buenos Aires, Imola, Mugello and Silverstone.

F1 Is Over As FOTA Pull Out

Good evening everyone who is reading, or follows my blog.  Today is one of the most pivotal days in Formula One’s history.  As we enter the British Grand Prix weekend, it was annonuced very early this morning that the remaining FOTA member teams will be leaving Formula One and starting their own racing series.

The announcement follows months of political deliberation, open letters, arguments, scuffles, driver questions, theories, rumours and a good helping of bad publicity for the sport which has been thrown into disrepute repeatedly since 2007 with Spy-Gate, Max Mosley’s dealings in a sex dungeon and now the end of the motorsport as we know it.

FOTA members; Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing, Panasonic Toyota F1 Team, BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso and ING Renault have all said they will leave F1 after no agreement between FOTA and the FIA has been reached over rule changes.

If you follow F1, this has been coming for a long time.  Too many rule changes, too many restrictions and Max Mosley took it one step too far this time and has led to the downfall of the sport.

“The teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship,” said a statement issued by FOTA after the meeting.

“These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.

“The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.”

Max Mosley has done what he always does and says “They can’t do that” and will be launching a legal case against FOTA, which will probably get nowhere.  It’s a knee-jerk reaction which may cause minor ruptions but Mosley seems to be missing the bigger picture.  And with Bernie Ecclestone saying Max needs to sort it out, the head man of the FIA looks set to be the bad guy in this, which in all truth’s is deserved as his meddling has got us into this mess.

“The FIA’s lawyers have now examined the FOTA threat to begin a breakaway series,” said the FIA in a statement.

“The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including wilful 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.”

It has left F1 with a roadshow for 2010 and only 5 teams.  Williams and Force India who brokeaway from FOTA are now stuck in F1, along with Manor, US F1 Team and Campos who all were accepted entries into the sport for next season.  The teams which failed including Lola and N.Technology have all swiftly withdrawn any such entries in the wake of the FOTA break-away and one can imagine they will be applying for the new series if such applications are formally allowed.

“With much regret, taking into consideration the highly questionable process conducted by the FIA, which is affected by many irregularities, and the uncertainties regarding the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the MSC board decided last night to withdraw its application, as Team N.Technology, under the new regulations allowing entry of ‘capped budget’ teams,” said the statement.

“MSC believes that through its wrong actions and objectionable management methods, the FIA severely hurt MSC’s efforts to become a new team and undermined the Formula 1 sport, taken as a whole.”

So what next for FOTA and indeed for this blog.  Well, I am probably going to loosely cover the F1 event of this weekend the British GP [in time] and again some coverage until the end of the season.  But if FOTA launch a rival series, F1Fanatics WILL, i repeat WILL be following the teams and supporting the new series.  A post will be brought up soon with how FOTA could go about launching the new series.  Keep your eyes peeled, and remember support FOTA’s actions.

FIA Announce 2010 Entry List

The FIA have announced the 2010 Formula One entry list, which has been under massive scrutiny for the past few months with big teams threatening to walk away and the entry list of new teams, which totaled 15 but only 3 teams would make it onto the official list.

All of the FOTA member teams appear on the list of entry, but Brawn, McLaren, Toyota, Renault and BMW Sauber are conditional to them signing a new agreement.

The new teams allowed in from the 15 are US F1, Campos and Manor.

Team	Constructor	About
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari
Scuderia Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso TBA
Red Bull Racing	Red Bull TBA
AT&T Williams	Williams Toyota
Force India F1	Force India Mercedes
Campos Grand Prix	Campos Cosworth	New
Manor Grand Prix	Manor Cosworth	New
Team US F1	US F1 Cosworth	New
BMW Sauber	BMW	Conditional
Renault F1	Renault	Conditional
Panasonic Toyota	Toyota	Conditional
Brawn GP F1 Team	Brawn Mercedes	Conditional
McLaren Mercedes	McLaren Mercedes	Conditional

Bernie – Team’s Can’t Set Up Their Own Series

Bernie Ecclestone believes that the manufacturer groups threatening to walk away from Formula One over dispute with the FIA, would have no luck trying to found their own series.

Bernie cites issues with sponsorship, events, governance, fans (and lack of) amongst other things, including contracts he holds with them saying they will be in F1 until 2012.

Ecclestone also believes in an era of cost cutting that boards of the major motor manufacturers like Toyota and BMW would be uneasy at funding a brand new racing series.

“If they do try to set up their own series – and I don’t think they will be able to – there are big problems ahead for them,” Ecclestone told the Daily Express.

“Apart from my contracts with teams, if somebody went to any of our contracted people, companies, television contractors, we would view it very seriously.

“That would be inducement to breach contracts and I don’t do that myself, so I won’t stand back and let it happen. Any action could run to hundreds of millions of pounds, who knows how much?”

“I’m not sure that the boards of teams such as Toyota and BMW, who are already looking to cut costs in F1, would sympathise and bankroll their teams going off to a series which would not be the FIA F1 championship,”