GO TO EARLIER STORY GO TO THE NEWS INDEX Mosley: F1 could survive without Ferrari
By Edd Straw Saturday, May 2nd 2009, 09:56 GMT
Max MosleyFIA president Max Mosley has insisted that Formula 1 could live without Ferrari in response to Luca di Montezemolo's criticism of the budget cap regulations.
The Ferrari chairman hit out at the introduction of the budget cap in a letter to the FIA revealed by AUTOSPORT yesterday.
In the letter di Montezemolo said the budget cap could undermine the credibility of the sport and be difficult to implement. He suggested that "all aspects of the new regulations should be carefully reviewed."
But Mosley insists that the £40 million budget cap is vital for the health of F1, saying that if Ferrari was to be lost to F1 it would simply be "sad". He added that he expects it to be difficult for the team to justify its opposition to the budget cap to the Ferrari board given the amount of money it could save.
"The sport could survive without Ferrari," Mosley told James Allen in the Financial Times. "It would be very sad to lose Ferrari. It is the Italian national team.
"I hope and think that when a team goes to its board and says, 'I want to go to war with the FIA, because I want to be able to spend £100m more than the FIA want me to spend,' the board will say, 'Why can't you spend £40m if the other teams can do it?'"
Mosley emphasised that the FIA would not back away from the budget cap and that it is vital for the financial health of F1 in both the long and short term.
"The cost cap is here to stay," he said. "There is room for discussion, it might go up or down in 2011 and if the economy picks up, say in 2014, then it might go up. You might adjust the cap in the interests of the sport, but you'll have everyone on a level playing field.
"The credit crunch hasn't really hit F1 yet. Obviously we lost Honda, but the real crunch will come when current contracts come to be renewed.
"Those contracts were signed before their share prices took a dump. I believe FOM [Formula One Management, the commercial rights holder of F1] will not be able to give the teams as much money as they have."
Mosley admitted that policing the budget cap would be difficult, but that any suspected irregularities would be thoroughly investigated.
"The difficulty and danger of cheating would be enormous," Mosley told the FT. "If we had the slightest suspicion that anyone was cheating, we'd send a team in to check. That's part of the deal.
"The [Inland] Revenue can't put even one tax inspector into each business on a permanent basis, we can put several in." Go to earlier story Go to the News Index ShareThis
As much as I dislike Max and wish so vehemently for his departure from Formula 1, the FIA and all things motor sport, I actually agree with him for once here. Ferrari has done little to endear itself for the past 13 years. It's not the team Enzo made anymore. Ferrari overestimate their importance in Formula 1 but if they were to disappear from Formula 1 would really a short lived funeral then business as usual. The latest crybaby behavior isn't helping their case either, I loved Ferrari back in the late 80's and early 90's but they've transformed into something else by the time the Benetton squad moved in 1996 and frankly I wouldn't be saddened in the least to see them go. Though I highly doubt it's going to happen. Strange to see Max actually right on a subject, but then even a broken clock is right twice a day.
The more challenging question is how would Ferrari react to the budget cap if they were doing well this season? I think a lot of their response stems from the fact that they're trying to save a bit of face this year given their poor esult. If they can't find a solution to all their earthly woes, and soon, they'll be going into 2010 with a distinct disadvantage.
mario wrote:I'm wondering what the hell has been going on in this thread [...] it's turned into a bizarre detour into mythical flying horses and the sort of search engine results that CoopsII is going to have a very hard time explaining ...
I'll go a step further: yes, F1 can survive without Ferrari. But does it need to? This is only a tit-for-tat argumentation, a concert by an old band, composed by Max, Bernie and Luca, which last week lost one of its old members (Ron). Max, Bernie and Luca have all used Ferrari's position in the past to undermine the other constructors' attempts of having their way. I remember reading Bernie arguing that if the other constructors wanted to go and create their own championship, they would fail because Ferrari was F1.
CarlosFerreira wrote:I remember reading Bernie arguing that if the other constructors wanted to go and create their own championship, they would fail because Ferrari was F1.
That, I think was only partially true; everything else was scaremongering by Bernie. F1 could survive without Maranello, but it would have a hell of a time starting up without it.
mario wrote:I'm wondering what the hell has been going on in this thread [...] it's turned into a bizarre detour into mythical flying horses and the sort of search engine results that CoopsII is going to have a very hard time explaining ...
Well, to a lesser degree, F-1 survived the 1990's, when there was a "wipeout" of traditional teams like Lotus, Brabham, Ligier and Tyrrell. In 1992, nobody really paid attention to Ferrari and their woes. So yes, it can survive, but it be a damn shame.
But Mosley in his "infinite wisdom" should remember that Ferrari is not only the most traditional team, but also one of the most committed. Di Montezemolo does not throw interviews stating that they will be in F-1 as long as they are winning like Ghosn. Having a field full of non-committed manufacturers and financially feebled independent teams is a recipe for disaster.
A fan of Roberto Pupo Moreno, the one and only, the legend!
To me it sounds like Max is just saying, 'we'd hate to see you leave but if worst comes to worst we'll carry on without you'. Ferrari do have that special something whether you like it or not (not in my case). F1 would survive without Ferrari, but it wouldn't be the same.
