Briatore Gone Over "Crashgate"

((HT: BBC))

Flavio Briatore ((pictured, thanks Reuters)) has left his position as boss of the Renault team after they decided not to contest charges of fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Executive director of engineering Pat Symonds has also left the team.

Renault were summoned by governing body, the FIA, after Nelson Piquet Jr claimed he had been asked to crash to help team-mate Fernando Alonso's race.

An FIA spokesperson confirmed a World Motor Sport Council hearing in Paris on Monday would go ahead.

Renault have been called to answer charges that they "conspired with Nelson Piquet Jr to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso".

The hearing will attempt to attribute responsibility for the Singapore "crash-gate" despite the news that Briatore and Symonds have left Renault.

The FIA could still impose sanctions if Renault are found guilty, including excluding the team from the championship, although that must be considered unlikely given the two people Piquet said were responsible have now left the team.

Piquet crashed in Singapore two laps after Alonso had come in for a routine pit stop.

That meant that when race officials sent out the safety car to clear up the debris from Piquet's car, Alonso was alone among the front-runners in not having to stop for fuel and tyres.

Renault's double world champion went on to take the chequered flag at Formula 1's inaugural night race and claim his first victory in two years.

At the time, Piquet attributed the crash to a simple error, but after being dropped by the team after July's Hungary GP the race-fixing allegations emerged.

The Brazilian has since testified to the FIA that he was instructed by Briatore and Symonds when and where to crash.

But on Wednesday the team in a statement they would "not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix."

The statement added: "The team also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team."

BBC pundit and former team boss Eddie Jordan said he was surprised by Renault's announcement but believes it was effectively an admission of guilt.

"By suggesting they are not going to contest the allegations is in itself an admission," Jordan told the BBC.

"That's how I see it. Legally, there may be another argument. I think this is a clear-cut admission and I am surprised.

"I don't know what goes on in teams but certainly in the Jordan team you would contemplate all sorts of things but you certainly couldn't contemplate that."

It remains to be seen whether this latest controversy, and the departure of Briatore and Symonds, will affect Renault's decision to stay in Formula 1.

Briatore had denied speculation that the French team's future was under threat and the team have signed a new Concorde Agreement to stay in F1 until 2012.

But this latest controversy, coupled with a decline in cars sales, could yet have repercussions for the staff of around 700, who are are employed at the team's headquarters in Enstone, in Oxfordshire, and Viry-Chatillon in Paris.

Here's the Piquet "crash" again...
Thanks to our friends at RTL and F1

Renault Engineer Director Offered Immunity Over "Crashgate"

((HT: CP))

Pat Symonds, the director of engineering for Renault's Formula One team, has reportedly been offered immunity by FIA if he comes forward with everything he knows about the alleged "crashgate" affair.

Renault ((pictured, thanks Vladmir Rys/Bongarts/Getty)) have been summoned before the World Motor Sport Council next week to answer allegations that they asked Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash deliberately in order to give teammate Fernando Alonso a chance to win the race.

According to Autosport, the decision to give Symonds amnesty against any punishment came after interviews conducted by FIA during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. According to the stewards' report, Symonds confirms that there was a meeting between himself, Renault team boss Flavio Briatore and driver Nelson Piquet Jr. on the morning of the Singapore Grand Prix.

According to the report, Symonds accepted that he had discussed the possibility of a deliberate crash at the 2008 race, but indicated that the suggestion was made by Piquet Jr. and not himself. Symonds refused to answer any questions about specific allegations, suggesting to the stewards that he might have "further information" which may prove useful.

The stewards report indicates that Symonds was called back a day after the initial interview last month and given a chance to answer specific questions one more time, which he refused.

Piquet Jr. has already been granted immunity from penalty for his cooperation and if Symonds were to accept the FIA's reported offer, it would leave only team boss Flavio Briatore holding the bag.

Here's the aftermath of the Piquet wreck from last year's Singapore GP

F1's Mosley Signs Concorde Agreement

((HT: TSN))

FIA president Max Mosley ((pictured, thanks CP)) has signed a new Concorde Agreement, the document that governs Formula One racing.

The FIA said Saturday the signing heralds "a renewed period of stability" for Formula One.

Motor sports' world governing body says that the document was signed late Friday and features a "slightly revised" set of technical regulations for the 2010 season. The FIA says all of the teams - with the exception of BMW-Sauber - have agreed to the changes, which will be published shortly.

BMW announced this week that it was withdrawing from Formula One at the end of the current season. They have reportedly been given until August 5 to sign on in the event that the manufacturer elects to sell the team to a potential buyer.

The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the FIA, F1's commercial rights holder and the participating teams sets out the basis on which all teams take part in the series and what their share is of the commercial wealth. The deal runs through 2012 and carries forward the procedures which were first set out in the 1998 deal. Decisions and changes will be decided upon by working groups and commissions with all teams having specific voting rights. Any changes must be formally approved by the World Motor Sport Council.

The deal also includes a "resource restriction agreement" which all the team's agreed to back on June 24, 2009. It calls for team budgets to fall back to the levels of the early 1990's.

Schumi Visits Massa In Hospital

((HT: CBSSports))

Michael Schumacher visited injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa on Saturday at the Hungarian hospital where the 28-year-old Brazilian is recovering from his high-speed crash.

Schumacher, who is coming out of retirement to stand in for Massa at Ferrari, left the AEK hospital with former Ferrari boss Jean Todt, but did not talk to reporters. He later posted a message about the visit on his personal website.

"Good that I finally made it to see Felipe, I feel better now," Schumacher wrote. "I am surprised at his extreme positive condition, as the accident was only one week ago. We sat together for around three hours and were chatting with each other."

"I really feel [relieved] now," Schumacher said.

The seven-time world champion, who retired in 2006, used a 2007 version of the Ferrari F1 car to test drive at an Italian track on Friday.

"I have to say that today I feel muscles I was not even aware anymore they exist," Schumacher said. "But then it was clear that you cannot test for a day after such a lot of time without feeling anything, and I am curious to see what will happen in the coming days."

Massa's family doctor Dino Altman ((pictured, thanks Balazs Mohai/EPA/Guardian)) said Saturday that the Brazilian was "doing well" and was "anxious to go home."

According to Altman, Massa will fly home to Sao Paulo in a private jet on Monday to continue his recovery.

Massa said Thursday that he was thinking about racing again, but Altman said he did not know how soon the runner-up behind Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 Formula One championship could return to the track.

"There's no hurry to bring him back to drive," Altman said. "The most important [thing] is to have him fully recovered, in a safe situation."

Massa underwent surgery on multiple skull fractures after he was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix last Saturday.

Paul Chapman has the update from Hungary, thanks to our friends at Reuters...

Schumi Takes Some Laps In Test Car

((HT: CBSSports))

Michael Schumacher was back in the cockpit of a Formula One car on Friday -- and it felt good.

The seven-time F1 champion borrowed an old Ferrari to test his form ahead of a comeback to F1 as substitute driver for the injured Felipe Massa.

"A great feeling to be back in an F1 car," Schumacher said after testing it on the Mugello circuit. "After a few laps, I was able to drive constant times and I am quite happy with the time I did."

The 40-year-old German organized the test to check his physical condition and drove a privately-owned Ferrari model used in the 2007 season, company spokesman Luca Colajanni said.

Schumacher could not drive the current Ferrari car due to F1's ban on in-season testing.

"Although those cars are not current or last year's ones, I simply like to drive as much as possible, so this is a good option," he wrote on his website. "Now, we will have to see how my body and my muscles will react to that day in the next days."

He said that on Thursday he had been at Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello to run tests in a simulator.

Schumacher, who retired in 2006, was back behind the wheel just two days after Ferrari announced the seven-time F1 champion would replace Massa until his return, starting with the European Grand Prix on Aug. 23, in Valencia, Spain.

The 28-year-old Massa underwent surgery on multiple skull fractures after he was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix last Saturday.

Massa is expected to return home to Brazil on Monday.

Thanks to our friends at RTL for the footgage.
Unless you know German, it just video of him on the track and the post-lap reax...

Ecclestone Sorry For "Hitler" Remark, Not Quitting

((HT: CBSSports))

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone ((pictured, thanks Daily Mail UK file)) dismissed calls for his resignation Monday in the wake of his praise for Adolf Hitler.

Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder, has come under fire from Jewish groups and British politicians following an interview published Saturday in the Times of London during which he said democracy wasn't effective and singled out Hitler as a strong leader.

Among those who have expressed outrage over Ecclestone's remarks is Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. Lauder said someone with Ecclestone's views should not be allowed to run such an important and popular racing series.

But Ecclestone said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press that "I think the people who are saying that [I should resign] haven't got the power to say these things."

If the WJC is influential, he said, "it's a pity they didn't sort the banks out." Asked to elaborate, Ecclestone said, "They have a lot of influence everywhere."

As a result of Ecclestone's earlier comments, the governor of Germany's Baden-Wuerttemberg state, Guenther Oettinger, canceled their planned meeting at this weekend's German Grand Prix.

Ecclestone said he was not aware of that.

"I think I'm due to be meeting him at 12 o'clock on Sunday -- nobody has told me to the contrary," he said.

Ecclestone said he had not intended to invoke Hitler's name in the interview with the Times. He acknowledged that it "doesn't help" that he is praising Hitler a little over a year since Max Mosley, president of F1's governing body, took a British tabloid to court after being accused of being involved in a Nazi-themed sadomasochistic orgy.

Mosley, the son of the late Oswald Mosley, Britain's best-known fascist politician in the 1930s, won the privacy suit. The judge in that case found no evidence that Mosley's encounter with five women was intended to be an enactment of Nazi behavior.

"It's probably my fault in that I got dragged into something I wasn't supposed to discuss -- we got out of F1 into something else," Ecclestone said.

However, Ecclestone said he does not regret praising Hitler's leadership "except as usual things were taken a little bit wrong."

"Between '32 and '38 he took a country that was bankrupt and made it a reasonably strong power in Europe, but after that the guy obviously is a lunatic," Ecclestone said.

Hitler's regime, responsible for the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews, is known to have opened concentration camps years before the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

"The trouble with politicians and democracy is they all the time have to compromise, they can't do what they want to do because there is somebody in opposition. It certainly takes a lot longer to do something," Ecclestone said.

"I regret that it didn't come out like that, upsetting people is the last thing I wanted to do, obviously."

Ecclestone Talks About Hitler

((HT: ESPN/The Times- Bird, Gledhill, Coates))

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone ((pictured, thanks Ben Gurr/The Times)) faced criticism from politicians and Jewish groups Saturday after being quoted as saying that Adolf Hitler "got things done."

In an interview with London's The Times newspaper, Ecclestone expressed a preference for "strong leaders," citing former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Max Mosley, outgoing head of Formula One's governing body, as examples.

He was quoted as saying that democracy "hasn't done a lot of good for many countries -- including this one."

"In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done," Ecclestone was quoted as saying.

"In the end he got lost, so he wasn't a very good dictator."

Ecclestone also said the West had been wrong to depose Iraq's Saddam Hussein, saying: "He was the only one who could control that country."

The Board of Deputies of British Jews told The Times that Ecclestone's views were "quite bizarre," and Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard said he was "either an idiot or morally repulsive." Labour Party lawmaker Denis MacShane told the newspaper that the remarks revealed ignorance of history and "a complete lack of judgment."

Calls to Ecclestone's London office were not immediately returned Saturday.

Ecclestone, who owns F1's commercial rights, is no stranger to controversial remarks. He once said women should dress in white "like all other domestic appliances."

In The Times interview, Ecclestone said that had been a joke, adding: "I would love to have a good lady race driver and preferably black and Jewish, too, but they might take maternity leave."

Mosley Stepping Down After All...???

((HT: CBSSports))

Max Mosley claims he is coming under pressure to reverse his decision last week not to seek re-election as president of Formula One's ruling body.

Mosley originally said he would step down as president of the International Automobile Federation in October. His decision helped broker a peace deal with the Formula One Teams Association, which had threatened to form a breakaway series if the FIA pressed ahead with an unpopular plan for budget caps from next year.

However, FOTA may not have seen the last of Mosley, according to an interview with the Mail on Sunday, where the 69-year-old official said some in the world of motorsport want still him to stand for a fifth term after 16 years in the job.

"They made the mistake of dancing on my grave before I was buried," Mosley was quoted as saying. "It's no good the teams getting a PR agency to claim I am dead and buried when I am standing here as large as life. I am under pressure now from all over the world to stand for re-election.

"I do genuinely want to stop. But if there is going to be a big conflict with the car industry, for example, with the FOTA teams, then I won't stop. I will do whatever I have to do. It's not in my nature to walk away from a fight."

It was also clear that a comment made after Wednesday's peace deal by Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo, referring to Mosley as a "dictator" whose reign had been ended, clearly rankled with the FIA president.

"By going home to Italy and telling the Italian media that they had toppled the dictator, di Montezemolo has tried to make it sound like I sit here and just decide what's going to happen," Mosley said. "It's absolutely not true ... to say that I run a dictatorship is nonsense."

Here's Mosley before the British GP, explaining the supposed schism...
((HT: BBC))

Mosley May Return...If...

((HT: CBSSports))

FIA president Max Mosley ((pictured, thanks topnews)) warned that Formula One's peace deal may collapse unless Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo apologizes for branding him a "dictator."

Di Montezemolo made the comment after Ferrari and seven other teams claimed a significant victory over Mosley when he abandoned a planned voluntary budget cap on Wednesday to ensure there would be no breakaway series.

With the FIA and Formula One Teams Association united again, Mosley announced he would be stepping down after 16 years in office.

Now angered by FOTA's apparent gloating, he said he will keep his "options open" over staying on while throwing that peace pact into doubt.

"If you wish the agreement we made to have any chance of survival, you and FOTA must immediately rectify your actions," Mosley wrote to Di Montezemolo early Thursday. "You must correct the false statements which have been made and make no further such statements.

"You yourself must issue a suitable correction and apology at your press conference [for FOTA] this afternoon."

Di Montezemolo did not do so in Bologna, although he did praise Mosley's contribution to enhancing safety during his four terms in office.

Mosley hinted in the letter that he might reverse plans not to seek a fifth term in October.

"There was no need for me to involve myself further in Formula 1 once we had a settlement," he wrote. "Given your and FOTA's deliberate attempt to mislead the media, I now consider my options open. At least until October, I am president of the FIA with the full authority of that office.

"After that it is the FIA member clubs, not you or FOTA, who will decide on the future leadership of the FIA."

Mosley claimed that the FIA and FOTA agreed to present a "positive" account of the reconciliation in Paris on Wednesday.

Instead, Di Montezemolo and other teams declared that they had won the power battle, since Mosley completely scrapped plans for the $65-million budget cap.

"The satisfaction is that all of our requests have been accepted," Di Montezemolo said after Wednesday's Paris meeting. "To us, three things were most important: That F1 stay F1 and not become F3; that there is no dictator, but that there was a choice of rules, agreed and not imposed; and that whoever had a team was consulted and had a voice."

His comments angered Mosley, who wrote to Di Montezemolo: "You have suggested to the media that I was a 'dictator,' an accusation which is grossly insulting to the 26 members of the World Motor Sport Council who have discussed and voted all the rules and procedures of Formula 1 since the 1980s, not to mention the representatives of the FIA's 122 countries who have democratically endorsed everything I and my World Motor Sport Council colleagues have done during the last 18 years."

Despite Mosley vowing on Wednesday to "step back" this summer, he was unhappy that teams were saying FIA Senate president Michel Boeri was effectively in control as a result of the deal.

"A fundamental part of this was that we would both present a positive and truthful account to the media," Mosley wrote.

"I was therefore astonished to learn that FOTA has been briefing the press that Mr. Boeri has taken charge of Formula One, something which you know is completely untrue; that I had been forced out of office, also false; and, apparently, that I would have no role in the FIA after October, something which is plain nonsense, if only because of the FIA statutes."

Last weekend's British Grand Prix was overshadowed by the split between the FIA and FOTA members, some of whom were branded "loonies" by Mosley after their decision to form a rival series.

Mosley Stepping Down After All

((HT: CBSSports))

The cash-strapped Formula One series prevented a break up Wednesday when the FIA's divisive and scandal-plagued president, Max Mosley, agreed to scrap a planned budget cap and step down at the end of his term.

Mosley will immediately take a back-seat role until his 16-year tenure ends in October, a move aimed at easing some of the acrimony that has blighted F1 in recent months.

"There will be no split. There will be one F1 championship in 2010," Mosley said at FIA's Paris headquarters.

"They've got the rules they want and they've got the stability. We've got the new teams and we've got the cost reduction."

Mosley backed down on the voluntary $65 million budget cap at the World Motorsport Council. Instead, teams were given a watered-down order to reduce costs to early 1990s levels.

But the Formula One Teams Association, which instigated the breakaway, had already implemented a series of cost-cutting measures themselves this season amid the global economic downturn, restricting on-track testing and the use of wind tunnels for aerodynamic testing.

Further efforts to create savings on engines and gearboxes in the next three years had already been announced by FOTA in May to help attract new teams. Campos Meta, Manor and Team US F1 will make their debuts next season. Additional cuts are expected to be agreed to Thursday at a FOTA meeting in Bologna, Italy.

"I am pleased FOTA's proposals have been endorsed and approved by the WMSC today," said John Howett, FOTA's vice chairman and Toyota Motorsport president. "We look forward to working with the FIA Senate to achieve a prosperous and exciting future for Formula One and its millions of fans around the world."

FOTA's members -- Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP -- opposed the budget cap because it would have given those who signed up greater technical freedom than those who refused, creating a two-tier championship next season.

"We're very happy that common sense has prevailed as I always believed it would because the alternative was not good at all," said Bernie Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder. "Everything is in good shape."

The FIA also expects the teams to sign on to a new Concorde Agreement, the confidential commercial document governing the sport.

Last weekend's British Grand Prix had been overshadowed by the split between the FIA and FOTA members, some of whom were branded "loonies" by Mosley after their decision to form a rival series.

Mosley announced plans to sue FOTA on Friday, but backed down 48 hours later when he insisted that a deal was close.

What will help heal the rifts is the departure of the often divisive Mosley after four terms. His leadership style was criticized as too autocratic and was blamed by many of the teams for precipitating the split between FOTA and the FIA.

Even as the crisis intensified over the weekend, Mosley was still planning to run for a fifth term.

But he said Wednesday: "The teams were always ... going to get rid of me in October. Whether the person who succeeds me will be more to their taste than I am remains to be seen."

Mosley has been the president of the FIA, the international automobile federation that governs Formula One, since 1993. FIA Senate president Michel Boeri will effectively be in charge until the election.

"It is a great relief and that is going to enable me to take a step back for the summer," Mosley said. "I will be able to look at Formula One knowing it's peaceful and stable, and I will be able to stop -- as was always my intention -- in October of this year."

"This for me is an enormous relief," Mosley added, referring to "personal difficulties" he has faced.

His son, Alexander Mosley, was found dead at his luxury apartment May 5 after an accidental drug overdose.

The 69-year-old FIA president, the son of former British fascist leader Oswald Mosley, was at the center of a media frenzy last year when a tabloid newspaper reported he took part in a sadomasochistic orgy with five prostitutes in London. A video of the incident was widely circulated on the Internet.

Mosley successfully sued the News of the World for invasion of privacy.

The episode brought calls for Mosley's ouster as FIA president, but he won an overwhelming vote of confidence to stay on.

Here's the analysis from our friends at the BBC...

FIA's Mosley Reconsidering Resignation

((HT: BBCSport))

...in the wake of his dispute with the Formula 1 Teams' Association he says he would be happy to run for a fifth term.

"It is for the FIA membership to decide on its elected leader," he said. "Over recent weeks it has become increasingly clear that one of the objectives of the dissident teams is that I should resign as president of the FIA. Last year you offered me your confidence and, as I wrote to you on 16 May 2008, it was my intention not to seek re-election in October this year. However, in light of the attack on the mandate you have entrusted to me, I must now reflect on whether my original decision not to stand for re-election was indeed the right one.

"It is for the FIA membership, and the FIA membership alone, to decide on its democratically elected leadership, not the motor industry and still less the individuals the industry employs to run its Formula 1 teams."

Formula 1's ((racing at Silverstone is pictured, thanks AFP file)) governing body and Fota have become embroiled in an increasingly bitter feud over Mosley's presidency and his plans for the 2010 season, which include budgetary and technical changes that have been met with opposition by Ferrari, Brawn GP, McLaren, Red Bull, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Renault and Toro Rosso.

It led to those eight teams - under the umbrella of Fota - to threaten to quit Formula 1 and establish a rival series next season - a move that Mosley claims "is an attack on the FIA's right to regulate its Formula One world championship".

"But, worse," adds Mosley in a letter written on Tuesday and addressed to all FIA member clubs, obtained by BBC Sport, "it is a wholly unjustified criticism of, and direct challenge to, the entire structure and purpose of the FIA.

"No president of the FIA could allow this to go unanswered. We are also preparing legal proceedings in case these are needed to protect the FIA's rights in its championship and to discourage any dissident Formula One team from engaging in illegal acts."

It is likely those writs will now be processed after Wednesday's planned meeting of the World Council.

Explaining the reasoning behind his battle with Fota, Mosley added: "A reduction in costs is essential if the independent teams are to survive. Without the independent teams, the championship would depend entirely on the car manufacturers who, of course, have always come and gone as it suited them.

"It is extraordinary that at a time when all five manufacturers involved are in great financial difficulty and relying on taxpayers money, their Formula 1 teams should threaten a breakaway series in order to avoid reducing their Formula 1 costs.

"It remains to be seen whether the boards of the parent companies will allow precious resources to be wasted in this way."

However, Fota - to date - have proved united and defiant in the face of Mosley, with various Fota members confirming at the British Grand Prix a number of teams and circuits had been in contact, underlining the level of interest in a breakaway movement.

Here's Mosley sounding rather optimistic about issues with British racing's David Hill before the race at Silverstone weekend past...

((HT: BBCSport))

Mosley Says F1 Deal Is Close

((HT: TSN))

FIA president Max Mosley said Sunday a deal is close to prevent eight Formula One teams forming a rival series and that legal action would be frozen to encourage a resolution.

Motor sport's governing body had said that proceedings would be issued without delay after the Formula One Teams Association decided to split on Friday when talks broke down to resolve a dispute over a voluntary 40 million pound (US$65 million) budget cap from next year.

But Mosley told The Associated Press at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone ((pictured, thanks AFP)) that progress has been made.

"There won't be any writ. I think we would rather talk than litigate," Mosley said. "We are very, very close as far as the facts are concerned. It's just if the teams want to sit down and iron out the last few difficulties."

The eight teams are McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso.

Mosley recognizes the need for a swift resolution, echoing McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh's declaration on Saturday that any deal must come by the end of July.

"I would agree with that," Mosley said. "If this goes on for any length of time, it damages the teams. It doesn't affect the FIA, it damages the teams because it affects their sponsors."

What won't assist the peace talks is Mosley referring to the more hardline FOTA members as "loonies" who are "immoderate in their approach."

Bernie Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder, was happy at news of an agreement being close.

"If Max says (a deal) is close, then that's good," he said.

In another twist to the dispute, Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn said if a resolution is not possible then FOTA could possibly make FIA take charge of its proposed series since it would come under its jurisdiction.

"You would need a regulatory body," Brawn said. "Ironically, I think the agreement with the European Commission is that the FIA has to offer to do that to any competitive series that wants to set up.

"So, the FIA have to offer to at least be the regulatory body, but they may not be the body that sets the rules. The rules can be determined by some other mechanism. If you want, the FIA can run the series for you. They can provide the stewards, the (scrutinizers) and things of that nature. So, that is available if FOTA wants to take it up."

Brawn GP was created only a few weeks before the start of this season using the infrastructure of Honda, which pulled out of F1. Brawn GP's Jenson Button tops the drivers' standings and the team is also leading the constructors' championship.

Brawn believes that smaller teams like his would need to receive help to compete in any new series.

"The FOTA organization, when the championship is created, will have to support the small teams," Brawn said. "They know it can't just exist on the manufacturers, so there has to be a structure that supports the small teams. So, I'm confident that that structure will be in place and will be able provide the funding that teams like mine need."

McLaren Boss Gives July Deadline For FIA

((HT: CP))

McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh told Formula One's governing body Saturday that any peace deal must be reached before the end of July to prevent the British team and seven others from forming a rival series next season.

While FIA president Max Mosley remains confident of a resolution, Whitmarsh said that the point of no return with the Formula One Teams Association series is fast approaching.

"I don't think it's days, but think it's weeks rather than many months," Whitmarsh said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I think by the end of July everybody is going to be progressively on diverging paths, so whatever separates us today will be greater by then.
"We are obliged to start planning now, which means entering into arrangements -- and so has the FIA -- so both parties have to plan on the assumption that they are doing things separately. Progressively those plans and arrangements became locked in place."

Finding a resolution will be hindered by the FIA's plans to sue McLaren and the other FOTA teams, citing "serious violations of law" in creating the rival series.

The breakaway by McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso was announced Thursday after the teams refused to enter the 2010 championship that featured the FIA's voluntary US$65 million budget cap.

"The FOTA had no alternative if they were to stay together than to decide that it would proceed with its own championship arrangements," Whitmarsh said. "You can't say that and then don't do it. So you've got to proceed, not to be provocative or aggressive, but because time is moving and you've got to."

FOTA members continued a second day of planning Saturday for that championship and Whitmarsh said there are no financial impediments to launching it. He added that the rival series could operate with eight teams, but that other interested parties have already been in contact.

"We've had a lot of interest expressed even in the last few hours from teams, circuits and media companies and we are having a meeting on Tuesday. Clearly people see this as an opportunity," Whitmarsh said at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. "It would be healthy if we were open to new teams."

Whitmarsh acknowledges that a unified F1 series is still the ideal scenario.

"We are not interested in winning or losing or the personalities or egos," he said. "What we want is what's best for the sport, what's best for this business and what's best for the fans -- and that probably is to have an accommodation between the factions that aren't currently agreeing."

Indeed, Bernie Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder, proposed Saturday that teams should be allowed to carry on spending -- and not subjected to a cap -- providing they sign up to the FIA championship for at least the next five years. It appears, though, that Mosley isn't going to back Ecclestone.

"I sympathize with (the teams) in a lot of ways," Ecclestone said. "They say, 'Nobody should tell us how to spend our money. We know what to do.' And I say providing they commit to the championship for at least five years, they should spend what they like."

Here's your updater from Silverstone, thanks to our friends at the BBC...

F1...? FU...!!!

((HT: ESPN))

Eight Formula One teams began preparations for a rival series after failing to resolve their dispute with motor sport's governing body over financial constraints on Friday.

Ferrari, which has participated since the first season in 1950, and current leader Brawn GP headed the list of Formula One Teams' Association members to announce the split ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix ((Silverstone is pictured, thanks Yahoo!Sports)).

FOTA, which also includes McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso, said it would not compromise on the quality of the series by signing up unconditionally for the 2010 F1 season under the FIA's plans for cost-cutting. The FIA's deadline for entry was later Friday.

FOTA's statement criticized the FIA's "uncompromising" stance and attempts, along with the commercial rights holder Formula One Management, to divide its member teams.

As it stands, Williams and Force India will be the only current teams on the F1 starting grid next season while three new outfits -- Campos Racing, Team US F1 and Manor F1 Team -- are also due to enter.

FIA president Max Mosley was insistent on introducing a voluntary $60 million budget cap for teams to curtail a "financial arms race" in F1. Those that don't agree to the cap would have more technical restrictions, something Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo had called "fundamentally unfair."

Now F1 looks set to lose some of its biggest names, including championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn.

"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," FOTA said after a meeting near Silverstone. "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."FOTA said its efforts to remain part of Mosley's series had been hampered by the FIA's approach to negotiations.

"The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA," the group said. "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."

Amid the global economic downturn, FOTA said it has already embarked on substantial cost-cutting.

The independent Brawn GP team only rose from the ashes of Honda after the Japanese automaker pulled out of F1 late last year as it was forced to focus on its core business. Yet now Button and Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello occupy the top two spots in the drivers' standings going into Sunday's race.

"FOTA is proud that it has achieved the most substantial measures to reduce costs in the history of our sport," the statement said. "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."

The drivers had already been preparing for radical developments to emerge from Thursday's FOTA talks.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso made it clear in the paddock on Thursday that he would leave F1 if his Renault team pulled out of F1.

"For me the new Formula One would be unattractive, with the small teams and no drivers," Alonso said. "We want to compete with the best teams in the world, the maximum technology: We all want to compete with the best drivers.

"If this is not what Formula One is about next year, then it will be another category with that. I won't retire, I will drive for another championship."

Ed HInton goes in to more detail here...