Talks break down over F1 budget cap

Negotiations between Formula One's ruling body and the teams' association over the proposed changes to the sport have broken down.
Financial experts from Formula One Teams Association (Fota) and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) met to try to overcome an impasse over the controversial £40 million budget cap that has divided the sport.
However, the FIA has said that the talks ended almost as soon as they began due to Fota's inflexibility and that the proposals remain in place.
"Unfortunately, the Fota representatives announced that they had no mandate to discuss the FIA's 2010 financial regulations. Indeed, they were not prepared to discuss regulation at all," the ruling body said in a statement.
"As a result, the meeting could not achieve its purpose of comparing the FIA's rules with the Fota proposals with a view to finding a common position.
"In default of a proper dialogue, the Fota financial proposals were discussed but it became clear that these would not be capable of limiting the expenditure of a team that had the resources to outspend its competitors. Another financial arms race would then be inevitable. The FIA financial regulations therefore remain as published."
Ferrari have threatened to walk out on Formula One if the budget cap, designed to attract new teams and to allow existing ones to weather the credit crunch, is not scrapped. Renault, Toyota and the two Red Bull teams have also said they cannot accept the rules.
In a later statement, the FIA accused Fota of wanting to take over the sport. "Fota, made up of participants who come and go as it suits them, has set itself two clear objectives: to take over the regulation of Formula One from the FIA and to expropriate the commercial rights for itself," the FIA said. "These are not objectives which the FIA can accept."
The governing body added that the sport would have a full starting grid in 2010 with everyone competing under the same regulations. The FIA published its 2010 entry list on Friday with Ferrari and Red Bull as confirmed participants, against their wishes, and five other existing teams as provisional.
The five were given until Friday to make their entries unconditional, with a warning that other potential entrants were prepared to replace them and join three new teams.
There was hope that a solution would be found at the meeting after the FIA said it felt there had been a "large measure of agreement" in talks on Thursday with representatives of Ferrari, Toyota, Red Bull and Brawn GP.
"There are still the opportunities this week to resolve the issues and if the issues are resolved then we will be happy to enter," Ross Brawn, the Brawn team principal, said yesterday.
However the FIA also warned that there was an "element" within Fota that was "determined to prevent any agreement being reached".
Source:The times