Silverstone: Formula One plunged into its biggest crisis in 60 years on Friday with eight of the 10 teams announcing plans to set up their own championship prompting International Automobile Federation (FIA) to announce it would sue champions Ferrari and other teams for planning a breakaway series.
The teams association Fota said BMW-Sauber, Brawn, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso and Toyota were united in a decision that would split the sport in two were it to be carried through.
“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. “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.”
The governing body had set a Friday deadline for teams to make their entries unconditional or risk exclusion in favour of would-be new competitors but publication of the final entry list, due on Saturday, would now be put on hold pending the legal action.
The eight Fota teams had submitted entries conditional on the 2010 rules, which include a controversial budget cap, being rewritten and the signing of a new commercial agreement governing the sport. Attempts by both sides to reach a compromise failed, with the FIA accusing teams earlier in the week of wanting to take over the sport.
Fota said their new series would encourage more entrants, listen to the wishes of fans and have transparent governance. The teams, who are due to race in the British Grand Prix on Sunday, also promised “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,” it added.
Williams and Force India have already committed unconditionally to the FIA’s world championship along with three new entrants — Campos, US F1 and Manor — who have yet to build any GP cars.
Meanwhile, following meetings between FIA president Max Mosley and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, motor sport’s world governing body has now decided legal action is their only recourse. Max Mosley has vowed to wage a £1 billion legal war against the eight rebel Formula One teams threatening to set up a rival race series.
Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One’s commercial rights-holder, is also consulting lawyers to launch a separate action. Legal experts are predicting that an action for damages could run to more than £1 billion, which may be the biggest claim in the history of sport, between the FIA and CVC Capital Partners, the company run by Ecclestone that owns Formula One’s commercial rights.
