FOTA to setup a new series - deal with FIA reached

[Ed]

FOTA have announced that they will be setting up a new series after negotiations with the FIA and FOM failed to reach a compromise. Is it the right move ?

Full FOTA press release

FOTA UNITED ON THE FUTURE

Silverstone, 18 June 2009 - Since the formation of FOTA last September the teams have worked together and sought to engage the FIA and commercial rights holder, to develop and improve the sport.

Unprecedented worldwide financial turmoil has inevitably placed great challenges before the F1 community. FOTA is proud that it has achieved the most substantial measures to reduce costs in the history of our sport.

In particular the manufacturer teams have provided assistance to the independent teams, a number of which would probably not be in the sport today without the FOTA initiatives. The FOTA teams have further agreed upon a substantial voluntary cost reduction that provides a sustainable model for the future.

Following these efforts all the teams have confirmed to the FIA and the commercial rights holder that they are willing to commit until the end of 2012.

The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA.

The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored. Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006. Despite this and the uncompromising environment, FOTA has genuinely sought compromise.

It has become clear however, that 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.

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. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering 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.

Statement issued by FOTA on behalf of BMW-Sauber, BrawnGP, Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren- Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toyota.

[Julian Mayo]

Goodbye Max. Goodbye Bernie.

[Julian Mayo]

Quick Ed, register "NewsonFOTA".........

[Julian Mayo]

I would be rather surprised if the BBC, and other broadcasters did not have a clause in their contracts along the lines of..."no Ferrari etc, no contract".
Max n Bernie really could be left looking somewhat silly. Aaahhhh, what a delightful thought.

[mlittle]

So the Rubicon has been crossed...........couple of questions now loom:
(1)Will this new series be able to attract sponsors?
---One of the lessons of the CART/IRL split was that, once the split began in earnest, most every sponsor of note left the sport or left CART for the IRL(or more precisely, the Indy 500)....will sponsors follow FOTA or will they remain with Formula 1 as it currently stands?

(2)Will they be able to get sanctioning for their events?
---When the C/I split occurred, one of the first things CART's directors did was go to both the FIA and ACCUS* and attempt to get them to deny the IRL sanctioning for their events including the 500
*--ACCUS: Automobile Compeition Committee of the United States; one of two representatives from the U.S. to the FIA, the second being AAA, the American Automobile Association

(3)Will this new series be able to attract venues?
---Unless I'm mistaken, for a racing venue to host international grand-prix level racing, they have to be certified(or homologated) by the FIA just as motorcycle venues are certified/homologated by the FIM. I wouldn't put it past Sado-Max and the Dwarf to block FOTA on this one out of spite......

(4)Will fans follow the new series or stay with F1?
---If the CART/IRL split showed us anything it was that when it occurred, some fans stayed with CART/ChampCar through the bitter end, some supported the IRL from the beginning through reunification/ the merger, some supported the Indy 500 separate of the IRL throughout...............the remainder stopped following the sport over the 12-year period and haven't returned in any great numbers. The big risk of any new series is not just attracting/keeping its' core base of fans but bringing in new fans over time. FOTA, at the very least, must keep its' supporters with them or risk them leaving the sport altogether.

(5)Which teams will follow FOTA and which teams will stay in F1?
---When the C/I split occurred, at first most of the big teams(Penske, Ganassi, Forsythe/Green, etc.) stayed in CART while many of the mid-pack/backmarker teams(Foyt, Hemelgarn, etc.) left for the breakaway series. While the circumstances here don't quite fit the circumstances in AOWR, it would be interesting to see if the two FOTA teams that filed entries for 2010[Williams, Force India] stick to their guns and stay in F1 or withdraw their entries and remain within FOTA?

[Julian Mayo]

So the Rubicon has been crossed...........couple of questions now loom:
(1)Will this new series be able to attract sponsors?
---One of the lessons of the CART/IRL split was that, once the split began in earnest, most every sponsor of note left the sport or left CART for the IRL(or more precisely, the Indy 500)....will sponsors follow FOTA or will they remain with Formula 1 as it currently stands?

(2)Will they be able to get sanctioning for their events?
---When the C/I split occurred, one of the first things CART's directors did was go to both the FIA and ACCUS* and attempt to get them to deny the IRL sanctioning for their events including the 500
*--ACCUS: Automobile Compeition Committee of the United States; one of two representatives from the U.S. to the FIA, the second being AAA, the American Automobile Association

(3)Will this new series be able to attract venues?
---Unless I'm mistaken, for a racing venue to host international grand-prix level racing, they have to be certified(or homologated) by the FIA just as motorcycle venues are certified/homologated by the FIM. I wouldn't put it past Sado-Max and the Dwarf to block FOTA on this one out of spite......

(4)Will fans follow the new series or stay with F1?
---If the CART/IRL split showed us anything it was that when it occurred, some fans stayed with CART/ChampCar through the bitter end, some supported the IRL from the beginning through reunification/ the merger, some supported the Indy 500 separate of the IRL throughout...............the remainder stopped following the sport over the 12-year period and haven't returned in any great numbers. The big risk of any new series is not just attracting/keeping its' core base of fans but bringing in new fans over time. FOTA, at the very least, must keep its' supporters with them or risk them leaving the sport altogether.

(5)Which teams will follow FOTA and which teams will stay in F1?
---When the C/I split occurred, at first most of the big teams(Penske, Ganassi, Forsythe/Green, etc.) stayed in CART while many of the mid-pack/backmarker teams(Foyt, Hemelgarn, etc.) left for the breakaway series. While the circumstances here don't quite fit the circumstances in AOWR, it would be interesting to see if the two FOTA teams that filed entries for 2010[Williams, Force India] stick to their guns and stay in F1 or withdraw their entries and remain within FOTA?

As a sponsor, do you stick your logo on a Ferrari or a Campos?

[mlittle]

So the Rubicon has been crossed...........couple of questions now loom:
(1)Will this new series be able to attract sponsors?
---One of the lessons of the CART/IRL split was that, once the split began in earnest, most every sponsor of note left the sport or left CART for the IRL(or more precisely, the Indy 500)....will sponsors follow FOTA or will they remain with Formula 1 as it currently stands?

(2)Will they be able to get sanctioning for their events?
---When the C/I split occurred, one of the first things CART's directors did was go to both the FIA and ACCUS* and attempt to get them to deny the IRL sanctioning for their events including the 500
*--ACCUS: Automobile Compeition Committee of the United States; one of two representatives from the U.S. to the FIA, the second being AAA, the American Automobile Association

(3)Will this new series be able to attract venues?
---Unless I'm mistaken, for a racing venue to host international grand-prix level racing, they have to be certified(or homologated) by the FIA just as motorcycle venues are certified/homologated by the FIM. I wouldn't put it past Sado-Max and the Dwarf to block FOTA on this one out of spite......

(4)Will fans follow the new series or stay with F1?
---If the CART/IRL split showed us anything it was that when it occurred, some fans stayed with CART/ChampCar through the bitter end, some supported the IRL from the beginning through reunification/ the merger, some supported the Indy 500 separate of the IRL throughout...............the remainder stopped following the sport over the 12-year period and haven't returned in any great numbers. The big risk of any new series is not just attracting/keeping its' core base of fans but bringing in new fans over time. FOTA, at the very least, must keep its' supporters with them or risk them leaving the sport altogether.

(5)Which teams will follow FOTA and which teams will stay in F1?
---When the C/I split occurred, at first most of the big teams(Penske, Ganassi, Forsythe/Green, etc.) stayed in CART while many of the mid-pack/backmarker teams(Foyt, Hemelgarn, etc.) left for the breakaway series. While the circumstances here don't quite fit the circumstances in AOWR, it would be interesting to see if the two FOTA teams that filed entries for 2010[Williams, Force India] stick to their guns and stay in F1 or withdraw their entries and remain within FOTA?

As a sponsor, do you stick your logo on a Ferrari or a Campos?

Good point.......but, how many sponsors will make the move over to FOTA's series, though? That's the big question for now........if this split is anything similar to the one AOWR's struggled to walk away from, would it matter? I don't mean to sound flippant on that one, Julian, but look at it this way.....if the split succeeds, then obviously they go with Ferrari. If it doesn't, it won't matter which team they go with because the sport as a whole will be devalued by the split overall and the sponsorship dollars will be a lot less than they're worth now.

I'll give you an example......prior to the split, then-Newman/Haas co-owner Carl Haas once said the value of his two-car team in CART was around $25-$30 million(this was pre-split based on both the costs of running both cars and the combined sponsorship they brought in......). Now, that same amount could help fund about five mid-pack teams in the IRL. That's because the sport as a whole lost a lot of value, which in turn pushed a lot of sponsors away from open-wheel racing(many of which haven't returned). Now, as I said above, if FOTA succeeds, then most sponsors aren't gonna' hesitate to slap their logos' on the side of a Ferrari. If FOTA doesn't succeed, then it wouldn't matter which series they go to. It'll be interesting to see where all the big sponsors go over the course of the year, Julian, though; that might give a hint as to where the breakaway series stands.

[Julian Mayo]

Good points, Mfer.
My personal belief is that the continuous disruptions Mad Max has wreaked on F1 over too many years, and the loss of major circuits (replaced with circuits in places unattractive to sponsors and fans alike) thanks to bernie have disencouraged would be sponsors in the past. I do not think FOTA will have a problem with sponsors. I also believe that FOTA has already secured circuits and TV coverage.
It will be interesting to see if Honda emerge as an engine supplier to either Formula "1" now.

[Ed]

Quick Ed, register "NewsonFOTA".........

Good point however FOTA as a name will most likely be disputed as it includes Formula One. Also the actual name of the series would be something different, maybe FZero or GP1. But certainly need to keep any eye out for this one!

[Ed]

I think NewsOnF1 is privileged to have mlittle with us as he can enlighten all of our readers on the aftermath of a split as occurred in North America. The post by mlittle shows just how many things can go wrong.

There was also a split in the touring cars in Australia and Julian can shed a light on those events.

[Julian Mayo]

I think NewsOnF1 is privileged to have mlittle with us as he can enlighten all of our readers on the aftermath of a split as occurred in North America. The post by mlittle shows just how many things can go wrong.

There was also a split in the touring cars in Australia and Julian can shed a light on those events.

Dammit Ed, I had hoped that nightmare was going to stay deeply buried in my much perturbed psyche forever
Reluctantly, I will dig it out and ponder on it for a wee while.

[Julian Mayo]

Okay, this is drawing on my memory alone, and I will willingly stand corrected. I was young and very busy at the time.
In Australia, one mob ( lets call them Max's Mob) wanted to replace the "Iconic" 5 litre V8s, Ford, Holden(GMH) with higher tech 2 litre tourers such as BMW etc and formed a breakaway entrants group.
Without a lot of the name cars and drivers, it struggled for sponsorship, failed to attract the crowds, and TV audiences dwindled rapidly, at least at my house.
Meanwhile the 5 litre mob (Lets call them the Brawny Bunch) continued to do what they had been doing well, despite having to move their Bathurst 1000 from the traditional holiday weekend due to TV contracts.
After a couple of seasons, I cannot recall how many, the 2 litre series run by "Max' Mob" died quietly away.
The "Brawny Bunch" became more professional each year, til they stand where they are now, with one of the best crowd pleasers in motorsport, and even with the present economic gloom, seem to have little trouble attracting major sponsors.

[JayVee]

Yes Yes Yes

Enough of Mosley, enough

This news made my day .... now if I can get 1 round of picks right

[Julian Mayo]

Yes Yes Yes

Enough of Mosley, enough

This news made my day .... now if I can get 1 round of picks right

Pleased?.........................................................................

[Kapel]

Hey..hope this is not a another threat and this materializes

A possibility of Mad Max removed from his post to avoid this crisis is the only solution left?