Max Mosley under fire as Formula One teams revolt over budget cap

The revolution in Formula One against budget-capping and the rule of Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, reached boiling point yesterday as the big teams appealed over Mosley’s head to the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and Senate urging them to intervene.
The move came on a dramatic day when the FIA announced entrants for next year’s championship, in which it excluded five of the present teams — Toyota, Brawn GP, McLaren Mercedes, BMW Sauber and Renault — but gave them until Friday to drop conditions they have imposed on their entries. As it stands, neither Jenson Button, of Brawn, nor Lewis Hamilton, of McLaren, would race next year.
The FIA provocatively included Ferrari as an entrant, against their will, as it did Red Bull and Toro Rosso because in each case the FIA says that those teams are subject to legal agreements binding them to Formula One whether they like it or not.
Ferrari announced immediately that they will not take part “under the regulations adopted by the FIA in violation of Ferrari’s rights under a written agreement with the FIA”. The list of entries includes three new teams taking advantage of spending controls being advocated by Mosley.
The FIA revealed that 15 new outfits applied to join and that several others were close to fulfilling the criteria to make it. The clear hint was that, should any of the five excluded teams fail to drop their objections, others will take their place. The successful new entrants are the Campos Meta team, from Spain, Manor Grand Prix Racing, from Britain, and Team US F1, from America.
The decision by the teams in the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) to write to the WMSC and the Senate, the FIA’s highest body, is further evidence that the big five manufacturers have had enough of Mosley and want him to be removed or restrained. Senior sources in this group told The Times yesterday that they could never countenance their companies being “at the mercy” of the FIA president, which could happen under a budget-capping regime.
The impression gained is that the letter to the FIA has not come out of the blue but follows considerable efforts by Fota to sound out senior members of the organisation who may be willing to assist their cause. The letter did not mention Mosley by name but there could be no doubt who was being referred to in passages that complained of a “confrontational and negative approach that has dominated the sport for years”.
Fota also criticised the instability of the regime administered by Mosley. “The constant announcements of regulatory changes, resulting from the unstable governance process that exists, has unfortunately created a situation of confusion and uncertainty among the public and sponsors,” the letter read. “This situation is adversely affecting the business of both the teams and the organisers.”
Sources close to Mosley laughed off the move, saying that it was “ridiculous” of the teams to write to the WMSC to complain about a new rules regime that the Council had approved.
Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial rights-holder 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.” Ecclestone remains convinced that all the teams in this year’s championship will be back next year.
Source:The times