My memory is probably faulty, but I seem to feel as if this is the first Wednesday in at least a couple of years in which I have arrived in Monaco to find the kind of nearly cloudless, clear blue skies and good weather you hope to find here on the French Riviera.
A court decision in Paris may contribute to a little more clarity within the way the Formula One teams, the International Automobile Federation and the F1 promoter now approach a problem that is creating a storm over the future of the championship.
The Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris today rejected Ferrari’s effort to try to prevent the FIA from introducing the two-tiered technical rules next year.
“No competitor should place their interests above those of the sport in which they compete,” said Max Mosley, the FIA president, in a statement. “The FIA, the teams and our commercial partners will now continue to work to ensure the wellbeing of Formula One in 2010 and beyond.”
In the paddock in Monaco a few minutes ago, Ferrari also came out with a statement that says something similar, and also with a tone indicating that it will not necessarily soften its approach. The French tribunal said the Ferrari action was something that should be taken up in the civil law courts, if Ferrari wished to continue with it.
“While continuing to evaluate whether or not to continue with this legal action already underway,” the Ferrari statement read, “Ferrari confirms its commitment to work within the FOTA in conjunction with the FIA and the Commercial Rights Holder to ensure that Formula 1 is a series where the rules are the same for everyone and which benefits from stability in the regulations, while continuing the work of the past few months in moving forward methodically and gradually towards reducing costs.
“If it is not possible for all parties to reach agreement, then in line with the decision of the Main Board, taken on 12th May, Ferrari will not enter its cars in a competition that, with the planned scenario in place, would see a watering down of the characteristics that have endowed Formula 1 with the status of the most important motor sport series and that have specifically led to the Maranello marque’s uninterrupted participation in the world championship since 1950.”
I think this is all very good news, because I think it will lead the teams and the FIA and the F1 promoter to come to a compromise - as I said in an earlier post. Had the thing blown up in the French court, it would certainly have made it very difficult, indeed, to negotiate.
Comente