Zoom Ecclestone’s F1 Empire is under threat

Bernie Ecclestone has called for calm as the row between eight of Formula One's existing teams and the governing FIA widened in the wake of the publication of the 2010 entry list.

Italy's La Repubblica said Ferrari and the Red Bull teams' inclusion on the official list against their will on Friday was a ‘provocation’, leading more of the world's car manufacturers to ‘declare war on Mosley’.

The newspaper was referring to the statement issued by ACEA, an association of European carmakers, following a meeting in Brussels.

Comprised of manufacturers including Ford, GM, Porsche, Peugeot, Volvo and Volkswagen, ACEA fully backed FOTA by insisting that F1's ‘current governance system cannot continue’.

Another Italian publication, Corriere dello Sport, agreed that the mood of the dispute has now moved to ‘calling for Mosley's head’.

Britain's The Times interpreted FOTA's attempt to bypass Mosley and appeal directly to the World Motor Sport Council as "further evidence that the manufacturers have had enough of Mosley and want him to be removed or restrained."

Ecclestone, Chief Executive of the presently war-trodden sport, said: "I would just ask everyone, instead of throwing mud at each other in public or behind each other's backs, to just be quiet and let things settle down a bit."

Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International