RBR and Toyota threatening to pull out

[noshpit]

Does anyone actually believe that this will happen? i think that they are just bargaining with this threat


Wasnt the are semi two tier system a while back when they had the colin chapman trophyy ( i think it was called that) for the non turbo cars , back when the turbo cars were winning a lot.

[CarlosFerreira]

No idea. But Toyota is probably eager to get the hell out of F1, in my opinion. It has not gone well.

[noshpit]

as is bmw

[CarlosFerreira]

as is bmw

Think so? That'd be two less engines in F1. I'm glad Cosworth is coming back; they might have some left over DFVs around the shop somewhere to power the 139 new teams F1 is bound to have next year.

Pre Qualifying is going to have to start on Wednesday afternoons and run until Saturday morning.

[Ross Prawn]

I think what you are seeing is a battle for control of F1 that will get more pointed as the year goes on.

Cost reduction is desirable but what a lot of the teams really need is a consistent framework of rules to let them plan and compete. Max and Bernie have increasingly being trying to rule by decree, and have introduced lots of random changes to rules without consultation. This may in part be due to their desire to stuff FOTA before it gets established. But quite rightly this behaviour pisses the teams off.

But Max and Bernie are visibly getting on and are close to retirement. They are also seen as weakened by the events of the last year or so. So now a lot of teams will be prepared to gear up for a big fight to influence the future direction and governance of F1.

This will be much exacerbated by the fact that money is tight.

So be prepared for lots of argy bargy and hope that someone is left on the grid for 2010.
Maybe Force India vs Super Aguri ?

[johnston21]

As it stands (now), only Brawn, Williams, and Force India are prepared to sign before the May 29th deadline.

[Yannick]

Brawn, Williams and Force 1ndia.

And what will happen if the others do not sign before May 29 - which they probably won't unless they get what they ask for?
Will they have a strike to be allowed back in for next year or will they have one to get their share of the CVC money for next year even though they didn't sign before May 29?

Bernie surely doesn't mind if things drag on longer than May 29 because then, he can keep the TV money that the other teams would get, because any team signing up later would be a new team.

There is a possibility that we will see another reject race of 6 cars either in Istambul or in Silverstone, because that are the events which follow May 29. Wouldn't the reaction of the British crowd whilst being faced with a race of 6 cars be enough to justify Bernie's plans to never go back there again?

All scenarios look like it would be a win situation for Bernie, but not necessarily for either Max, who wouldn't get much, or FOTA who would get what they want, but had to pay heavily for it.

We'll find out how that develops.

[CarlosFerreira]

Bernie might get what he wanted and keep the money, but it'd be the last time. No, I think Bernie is with the constructors on this. The teams and constructors need Bernie because he has the expertise, and he has registered, some years ago, the designation GP1 in case he needs to pull out and run outside FIA. Maybe a FOTA/FOM organized championship? That'd kill the FIA.

[Irisado]

Does anyone actually believe that this will happen? i think that they are just bargaining with this threat

These types of stories come around quite a bit, usually from Ferrari, but I don't think there is much in it to be honest. In the end, some sort of deal will be reached in my view, there will just be a lot of bluff and counter bluff on the way, as well as a lot of hot air. I've seen it all before.

Wasnt the are semi two tier system a while back when they had the colin chapman trophyy ( i think it was called that) for the non turbo cars , back when the turbo cars were winning a lot.

That 'class trophy' lasted for just one season (1987), and it was designed to encourage some teams to stop using turbo engines, since the FIA wanted to phase them out, which was somewhat ironic since they were made compulsory just one year before in 1986. Only some smaller teams took the option of running normally aspirated engines, so only Tyrrell, Larrousse (Lola), AGS and March were able to compete for this award , and I think there were different trophies for the winning driver in this class and the winning constructor (Jim Clark Trophy and Colin Chapman trophy if I recall correctly, but my memory could be playing tricks here).

It was more of a symbolic gesture than anything else, and it nothing like the two tier system which is currently being proposed.

[Captain Hammer]

I'm not entirely sure why they're complaining. The advantages of running with the budget cap car obvious; in fact, I'd be very surprised if even one of the teams elected to run without it. So in theory there will be a two-tier system, but in practice everyone will be running under the same set of technical regulations. I very much imagine that the optional budget cap is the first step on the road to having a compulsory one.