Top teams to pull out of F1 races

Top teams to pull out of F1 races

By Leonard Lim

F1 WITHOUT THE STARS? Without the top teams and stars like McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton (left) and current championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP, Singapore and the 16 other venues on the F1 circuit will be looking at a second-tier championship next year.
THE crown jewel of Singapore’s tourism calendar is in the balance, after eight top Formula One teams announced sensationally that they are taking steps to start a rival championship from next year.

They dropped the bombshell late on Thursday amid a worsening row between the F1 Teams Association (Fota) and world motorsport boss Max Mosley, who wants to limit the amount teams spend.

With marquee names like McLaren and Ferrari threatening to pull out, this is the worst crisis to engulf the sport in its 60-year history.

The sport’s governing body responded swiftly yesterday, saying it would take legal action against champions Ferrari and the other teams.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA), which Mr Mosley heads, said their actions breached legal obligations, among other things. It also said it was delaying announcing the 2010 line-up, which had been due today.

The absence of stars like McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and current championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP will result in an entirely different F1 series.

Unless the two sides compromise, Singapore and the 16 other venues on the F1 circuit will be looking at a second-tier championship next year.

That prospect is worrying both tourism industry players and fans alike, less than a year since the successful inaugural Singapore Grand Prix last September.

A race minus big names would hit the bottom line hard, predicted Park Royal Hotel general manager Ian Ekers. ‘If they break away, a lot of the crowd will follow,’ he said.

SIM University chancellor Cham Tao Soon, a Ferrari fan who has followed the sport for about 30 years, said: ‘If Singapore is obliged to carry on for three more years with Mickey Mouse teams, it will be very disappointing. I’ll probably switch to the other championship.’

At the Singapore Sports Awards last night, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said: ‘This is something the teams and the F1 management have to sort out. We hope that they will be able to come to some agreement for the good of motorsport as a whole.’

The current chaos had been building up over several months, ever since Mr Mosley proposed a voluntary budget cap on teams’ spending for the next season. Teams that do not comply would face technical restrictions.

The Fota teams - Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso - rejected the idea, saying F1 is based on technical excellence and constant innovation.

They said they would take part next year only if the rules were revised.

But the FIA refused to budge, arguing that the teams’ hefty spending of up to US$300 million (S$436 million) annually is not sustainable, not least in these difficult economic times.

Yesterday, Fota said it had no choice but to start preparing for ‘a new championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners’.

Carrying out that threat, however, will be fraught with obstacles. Deals must be struck with television companies and host venues.

Mr Bernie Ecclestone, 78, the sport’s commercial rights holder, said yesterday that the eight teams could do what they want. ‘I’m not here to tell them what to do,’ he said.

For Singapore, this year’s night race on Sept 27 is safe.

Last year, it drew 40,000 visitors who brought in about $168 million in tourism receipts over a weekend.

Singapore has a five-year deal to stage the F1, with an option for a five-year extension after 2012.

Singapore GP chairman Teo Hock Seng did not want to comment on the prospect of a future with two rival F1 races.

But Mr Andrew Ing of nightspot group St James Holdings said: ‘We’ll miss the party mood if we don’t get the full teams. It would be a shame.’

HOW IT GOT TO THIS
IN MARCH, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) proposed a budget cap of £30 million (S$72 million) per team. The motorsports governing body was concerned that given the economic environment, teams’ ballooning spending would be unsustainable.

Lower spending would also attract new teams which have been daunted by astronomical budgets of up to £180 million a year.

But most of the 10 Formula One teams said no, arguing that F1 is about cutting-edge technology and constant innovation. The teams were also angry that the FIA had not consulted them before making the proposal.

As negotiations between both sides dragged on, the FIA raised the proposed budget cap to £40 million.

Things came to a head as yesterday’s deadline for teams to submit entries to the 2010 series drew near. Then, on Thursday night, the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) dropped a bombshell, saying it was taking steps to prepare for a breakaway championship.

Fota comprises Brawn GP, Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso.

The FIA, which said yesterday it will not be held to ransom, is set to announce the 2010 line-up today.

WHAT IF THERE’S NO COMPROMISE?

FROM the current F1 line-up, only Force India and Williams have said they will participate unconditionally next year.

With star names like McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa missing, TV broadcasters, fans and host cities are staring at what might be a second-tier F1.

Source : Straits Times - 20 June 2009

Buy Sell Rent invest In Singapore Property Real Estate

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

Credo Real Estate launches collective sale of Culford Garden at Siglap »« Two East Coast en bloc sites on market