Zoom Mosley asking FOTA teams to attempt amendments only after accepting the 2010 regulations

It was recently reported that FIA President Max Mosley himself suggested to the Formula One Teams Association that, in view of their strong protest against the implementation of the 2010 budget capping regulations adopted by the sport's governing body, they should file their entries in next year's championship with conditions attached to their entry forms.

It now appears that Mosley is suggesting they do exactly the contrary, claiming that it is only once the FOTA members unconditionally present their entries for the 2010 season that they may then work on changing the rules, Autosport revealed.

Mosley's position is that, while the FOTA teams continue to strongly oppose the measures adopted by the FIA (which would see annual budgets radically slashed to €45m (US $62m), an amount not including certain salaries and marketing considerations), the 'rebel' teams should accept the 2010 rules as they stand before lobbying for any amendments.

"Under the International Sporting Code (Art. 66) we cannot now change the published 2010 rules unless we have the consent of all the competitors who have entered," Mosley stated in a letter sent to the eight FOTA members: Ferrari, Toyota, Renault, McLaren, BMW, Brawn, Red Bull and Toro Rosso.

"However once we have a list of confirmed entries, we can make changes provided we have the necessary unanimous agreement," he added.

"You therefore have the option of participating in this process as a confirmed entrant, or not," Mosley's letter reads. "In order to participate, you should now write to us confirming that your entry is unconditional."

"It is of course up to you, but the simplest way to ensure that all entrants run under the same rules would be if everyone entered under the cost-cap rules as published and then all entrants cooperated to agree modifications to those rules which would make the proposition workable for all parties," Mosley wrote.

To date only two teams currently active in F1 have signed up for the 2010 season: Williams did so after explaining that they cannot risk being pushed out of their core business, while Force India claimed contractual obligations with their sponsors. Both were quickly expelled from FOTA.

As FIA President Mosley pointed out, any changes to the regulations require unanimous agreement between all confirmed teams, yet the majority of the near-dozen potential new entrants hoping to enter F1 filed their entries because the radical cuts in permitted team budgets made it possible for them to do so in the first place.

Therefore the FOTA members might very well sign up, but they have absolutely no guarantees that their demands will be accepted by the new entrants who surely have no wish if seeing the budget roof raised higher.

Nonetheless, Mosley believes that amending the 2010 regulations "should be relatively simple to achieve."

The FIA is scheduled to publish the list of teams participating in the 2010 championship by this Friday, June 12th. In addition to requesting that their amendment demands be accepted before that date, the FOTA members also petitioned for an updated Concorde Agreement.

"As explained at both our recent meetings, the FIA is willing to enter into a Concorde Agreement dealing with all questions of governance and rule stability along the traditional lines first established in 1981," Mosley indicated, however adding: "There is no possibility of this being concluded in advance of settling the 2010 entry list, a draft of several hundred pages having been produced at the last moment."

Mosley continued by indicating that Concorde Agreement negotiations should only take place with teams participating in the 2010 season, therefore making the publishing of next year's entry list a requirement to any further talks.

"We plan to arrange a meeting of all the confirmed 2010 teams immediately after 12 June in order to discuss the cost saving measures that have been proposed by the 2009 FOTA teams," the FIA President informed.

As he invited the eight contesting teams to sign up, Mosley commented: "We look forward to a positive response."

He then gave the FOTA alliance a short deadline: "It would be helpful to have this no later than close of business on Tuesday 9 June."

The Formula One Teams Association will undoubtedly respond on Tuesday, but after fighting back with such energy, sending in unconditional entries - with no assurances that the 2010 regulations will be amended to feature their demands - seems improbable.

It was reported earlier on Monday that the eight FOTA teams have been looking into the possibility of setting up their own series, while drivers – including Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa – have openly rejected the new regulations imposed by the FIA.

During the Turkish Grand Prix weekend, all drivers working with FOTA members announced their intention of following their teams out of Formula One if such was the outcome of the crisis.

For the time being, this week will surely see many reactions from all parties involved.

Daniel BASTIEN
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