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(Silverstone, England)
FORMULA One plunged into its biggest crisis in 60 years yesterday with eight of the 10 teams announcing plans to set up their own championship.
The teams association FOTA said that BMW-Sauber, Brawn, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso and Toyota were united in a decision that would split the sport in two if carried through.
Responding to the threat, Formula One's governing body, FIA, said in a statement that it will sue FOTA over what '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 statement read: 'The FIA's lawyers have now examined the FOTA threat to begin a breakaway series.
'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.'
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The eight teams accounted for 47 per cent of Formula One's total revenue generation in 2008 through sponsorship, supplier deals and team owner contributions, according to industry monitor Formula Money.
The teams will take more than US$2 billion of annual investment with them if they leave the FIA Formula One championship and set up their own series, Formula Money said.
'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 International Automobile Federation (FIA) had set a deadline yesterday for teams to make their entries unconditional or risk exclusion in favour of would-be new competitors.
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 that their new series would encourage more entrants, listen to the wishes of fans and have transparent governance.
The teams, which are due to race in the British Grand Prix tomorrow, 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.
Two-times drivers world champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso said yesterday that Formula One is 'finished' if the split materialises.
The 27-year-old Renault driver said that he would leave and join the new series after weeks of discussions and negotiations failed to deliver a compromise agreement.
He added: 'There is no solution so it is sad news, but that is the way it is. So I think that Formula One is finished. It will be standard engines for everyone, small teams and no drivers - for me, this is not the Formula One that the people want.
'The new series will be very attractive, with the biggest teams and the best drivers so everything stays the same, just maybe not name. This will be the new F1.'
Alonso's comments were among a series of different reactions in the paddock as many close observers of the sport talked about the split created by the FIA's proposals for a £40 million (S$95.3 million) budget cap.
Former three-time champion Jackie Stewart, a long-time adversary of FIA president Max Mosley, said that he felt that Mr Mosley had 'gone too far this time'.
He said: 'Max's way of ruling is bully-boy tactics - that's why the teams have got fed up. Someone will stand up to a bully eventually and stop it. That's the way it works.'
As he spoke, the eight rebel teams were locked in crisis talks inside the Ferrari motor home.
Mr Stewart said that he believed that it was necessary, if not imperative, for Mr Mosley to step down and leave if the two sides were to reach a compromise agreement and save Formula One from a damaging schism.
He said: 'The teams have made a decision that they cannot continue with the governance in its present form - I think they do want Max to go because, frankly, some of his decisions over the years have been questionable.
'For example, there was the US$100 million fine on McLaren for something that was never proven. Never in the history of sport has such an amount of money been levied by a sporting authority - and that was something that he drove.' -- Reuters, AP, AFP
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