Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Renault, Toyota, Brawn, Red Bull Racing
and sister team Toro Rosso announced last night on the eve of the
British Grand Prix that they will launch a rival series to Formula
1.
These teams, which form the Formula One Teams Association
(FOTA), and the FIA failed to come to an agreement after weeks of
tense negotiations. FOTA did not agree to a universal GBP40m budget
cap and had wanted a gradually-lowered limit, and were aggrieved
that other cost-cutting suggestions were snubbed and that monies
owed since 2006 had not been paid up.
FOTA's teams submitted conditional entries before the deadline
for 2010 applications passed at the end of May. Prior to that,
former FOTA members Williams and Force India submitted full entries
and were ejected from the association. The FIA published Ferrari
and the Red Bull teams as full entries on the basis of 2005
contracts that bound them to participate until 2012, and the others
were given until today to drop their conditions.
The new championship promises cheaper tickets, returns to
exciting race venues, technical assistance to new teams and the
retention of most of the drivers on the current grid. For full
articles, click here and
here.
