Three days before the event, Max Mosley addresses a letter to the teams

Max Mosley, president of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), wrote to the eight members of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) asking them to enter next year’s championship unconditionally so they can help design the rules they desire. As a reminder, Force India and Williams have been temporarily banned from the FOTA because they definitively registered for 2010.

On this subject, the owner of Force India, Vijay Mallya, insisted on responding. He is asking the FOTA to reconsider the suspension of his team. Just like Williams, due to its sponsors and lenders, Force India was obliged to officially apply.

After a weekend of high tension at the Turkish Grand Prix where FOTA meetings continued ahead of the publication of the 2010 team list on Friday, Mosley’s response to the teams was highly anticipated.

Mosley argued that the best way for teams to shape the future of the sport would be to abandon the conditions attached to their entry.

In fact, he believes it would be simple to find a solution to FOTA’s concerns about the new rules if all the teams participated in the 2010 championship and signed in favor of the budget cap, before, of course, creating new regulations.

In the letter addressed to Ferrari, McLaren, BMW-Sauber, Renault, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso, Toyota, and Brawn GP, Mosley stated that he wanted to sit down with all the 2010 teams during the month to initiate discussions on developing such rules.

To do this, he therefore wishes that the FOTA members confirm their presence tomorrow for 2010 so that he can move forward with his plans.

« Within the framework of the International Sporting Code (Art. 66), we cannot change the publication rules of 2010 unless we have the consent of all the entrants who have entered, » wrote Mosley in his letter.

« But once we have a confirmed entry list, we can make changes, we have provided what’s necessary for a unanimous agreement. »

« You therefore have the opportunity to participate in this process as a confirmed participant or not. To participate, you must now write to us to confirm that your registration is unconditional. »

The FIA is expected to announce its list of 2010 teams this Friday. Williams and Force India have already officially entered unconditionally. There are also about ten other teams in contention.

Mosley made it clear to the FOTA members that any rule changes should be made in cooperation with all the new teams on the grid.

« We plan to organize a meeting of all the 2010 teams immediately after June 12 to discuss the cost-saving measures proposed by the 2009 teams that are FOTA members, » he explained.

« We have already reached out to some potential new teams regarding the proposed measures, and the reactions are generally positive. A solution should be relatively simple to find. »

« Consequently, if you intend to enter, you should inform us of the draft rules you wish to adopt. We expect a positive response. It would be good to have them by the close of business on Tuesday, June 9. »

As part of the entry conditions for teams next year, FOTA has requested that a new Concorde Agreement be signed no later than June 11, 24 hours before the announcement.

Mosley specified that this scenario is impossible because all the 2010 teams would have to sign it, and they would only be known the next day.

« As explained during our last two meetings, the FIA is ready to draft a new Concorde Agreement on all matters dealing with the governance and long-term stability of the sport, » continued Mosley in his letter.

« This agreement, which originated in 1981, was renewed in 1998 to the satisfaction of all the teams currently in competition and renewed in 2005 to the satisfaction of Ferrari. »

« We are ready to immediately begin discussions with a view to signing an agreement. However, there is no possibility of it being concluded in advance. It is a project of several hundred pages that cannot be drafted at the last minute. »

« Also, the FIA needs to know who to discuss the project with. There will certainly be new teams in 2010, and currently, it seems unlikely that all the 2009 teams will participate in the 2010 championship. Clearly, the project should be discussed only among those who will participate. »