[MK Chris]

Ferrari will be lining up, I'm 99.9% certain of it.

[Yudster]

They have certainly made the announcement with plenty of time for things to change in.

[jocky85]

Ferrari trying to hold the FIA to ransom again. The FIA will buckle as usual, but I wish they'd just sod off.

To be fair though, Red Bull and someone else have also threatened to pull out over the 40 million cap issue.

I think I heard Toyota were against it aswell?

[Munki Bhoy]

Sounds about right, I couldn't remember who the someone else was.

[Ed Pummelon]

The BBC is trying to stir up trouble again.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 043243.stm

Another case of the headline not actually telling the whole story. Looks to me like Barrichello is trying to ward off a non-story and nothing more.

That was piss poor reporting from the BBC. They basically chopped what he said in two, putting the second half earlier in the article to make it sound like he was throwing his toys out of his pram. The first half of what he said (conveniently buried towards the end of the piece), actually set that key quote up, and showed that what he was saying was in reality balanced and calm.

I'm beginning to wonder if there are any credible sources of news reporting left in the UK.

[MK Chris]

Well, you get bad eggs in any organisation. A lot of what the BBC reports on is fair and balanced.

[Zoot]

Ferrari trying to hold the FIA to ransom again. The FIA will buckle as usual, but I wish they'd just sod off.

To be fair though, Red Bull and someone else have also threatened to pull out over the 40 million cap issue.

I think I heard Toyota were against it aswell?

And Renault

[MK Chris]

Ferrari have threatened to pull out of Formula 1 numerous times in its history, yet are the only team to have competed in every World Championship since its inauguration. However, on this occasion they do have a point, as do the others. The two-tier Championship makes more of a mockery of the sport than it already has been made by the constant rule changes, you just can't do it at the pinnacle of the sport, it's a ridiculous idea.

[Ed Pummelon]

Well, you get bad eggs in any organisation. A lot of what the BBC reports on is fair and balanced.

'Fraid I don't agree there, but let's leave it for another thread to stop this one going off track. That would be the pits. Haha, sometimes I kill myself...

[Yudster]

You can't resist them when they just drop into your lap.

[Ed Pummelon]

Dancers?

[Zoot]

Dancers?

Dancers usually sit on your knee, then they talk about the first thing that pops up.

[Ed Pummelon]

Gophers?

[S4B]

If that's what you kids are calling them these days!

[Ed Pummelon]

Gulp

[thenamesarnold]

Well if this goes through I would expect a different schedule, and maybe the use of Silverstone instead of Donington Park. That's if F1 doesn't decide to chicken out and give into to all the teams demands in desperation.

[Yudster]

Chicken out or see sense? depends on your ppint of view I guess, but it doesn't seem too bright to me to introduce rules which will effectively kill - or at least disastrously devalue - your business. Rather than a U-turn being seen as chickening out, I can't help thinking that to push on regardless would be cutting off their nose to spite their face.

[Zoot]

Ok, I'm still half asleep, so lets see if I can make sense of this -
8 out of the 10 teams have decided not to sign up for next season and instead are going to start up their own championship. Will these be similar to Football/ Rugby cups (guinness premiership etc) or a more stand-alone championship like Formula 3, Formula 4 and Indicar? If this does actually happen (which to be honest, I still can't see, I reckon this is just a scare tactic), what will happen to us fans? I mean It'll be like the band Guns n' Roses where most of the original and much loved members (teams) have left and started a new band together leaving just the name and the ego behind, so the new 'band' is more like the 'old' band than the old band actually is (does that make a sense? I haven't had a coffee yet). If this does happen, will it be shown on TV? That's the big question. That's what I'm worried about. If it's won't be, then whats the point? There are so many motor racing championships out there and so little of them are actually covered on TV, and the majority of the ones that are on TV are on some subscription/pay-as-you-watch channel.

They can fight as much as they want, but we are the ones that will get screwed.

[Yudster]

Without a major TV deal they won't be able to afford to do it, so you can be sure if it does happen that there will be TV coverage.

Bearing in mind that the loss of these teams - and these particular teams - means that F1 will effectively cease to exist, or at least be devalued beyond recognition, I can't see FIA not going back on the budget capping issues. If capping the budget means that they basically lose the best teams and have to make do with the also-rans and whoever else they can scrape in, it really isn't in their interests. Or anyone else's.

[Ed Pummelon]

If the FIA don't shift their position on this they're even more shortsighted than I thought. Although I'm sure they will, in a way I almost hope they won't - it'd be interesting to see how/if Fota would follow this through.

[MK Chris]

I can see your point Zoot, but I think it's a very good idea. Bearing in mind that they are talking about taking eight of the existing ten teams - including all the competitive ones (Williams haven't been competitive since the late 90s) and the drivers are going with them. That will mean that the TV coverage will follow and with it the sponsors - and you will effectively have what a lot of people have been after for a long time - a Formula One (albeit under a different name) without Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone. I'd love to see what they could do with a new series - I bet most of the races won't be in places where there's no fanbase, like they are at the moment.

That said, Yudster is right - the FIA are bound to back down, despite the noises they're making at the moment. Two championships simply can't survive as they can in darts and they know it - and it's the one with the big names and the big sponsors who will survive.

[Zoot]

I can see your point Zoot, but I think it's a very good idea. Bearing in mind that they are talking about taking eight of the existing ten teams - including all the competitive ones (Williams haven't been competitive since the late 90s) and the drivers are going with them. That will mean that the TV coverage will follow and with it the sponsors - and you will effectively have what a lot of people have been after for a long time - a Formula One (albeit under a different name) without Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone.

Yea, but Seeing as the BBC has just this year bought the rights and bought a 10 year contract, what would happen there? Saying that though, If BBC carried on showing F1 surely that would give ITV an incentive to buy the rights to the new 'championship'? direct rivelry and all that.

It still won't happen though, FIA will back down, they can't afford not to.

[MK Chris]

I guess it depends if there's a clause in the contract. I heard David Croft talking in an audio clip on that article and he said he seemed to indicate that although he didn't know, he'd be surprised if there wasn't a clause in the BBC contract for renegotiating if the big teams like Ferrari leave.

[Ed Pummelon]

Latest: FIA stand their ground.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 533904.ece

[Lactating Man Nips]

Normally when teams suggest a breakaway league in something you know it'd be shit. The European Super League in football for instance.

This would be different. You could easily put together a good set of circuits that aren't connected to F1 next year (Silverstone, Magny-Cours, Montreal, Indy, A1 Ring, Imola, whichever one of the German circuits isn't being used at the moment, Jerez, Zandvoort, Zolder). Add to that Ferrari and McLaren and the drivers and you've got a series that'd easily outdo F1.

Which is why the FIA will cave in.