According to the regulations, the FIA acted too late

The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) has responded to the latest regulatory change to the championship, recently obtained by the FIA – International Automobile Federation.

The FOTA meeting earlier this month had unanimously devised a new points system, which was later rejected. The commission believes that the FIA does not have the right to impose new rules so close to the start of the season.

Last Monday during the meeting, the decision that was made is to award the title based on the number of Grand Prix wins, as opposed to the highest number of points scored.

An agreement had been reached for a change in the points system with a 12-9-7 points formula for the top three positions. The teams made it clear that it was too late for the FIA to modify the system without their approval.

The FOTA stated in a press release: « The modification of the sporting regulations proposed by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) was not carried out in accordance with the procedure provided by Appendix 5 of the Sporting Regulations. According to the provisions of Article 199 of the FIA International Code, it is too late for the FIA to impose a change for the 2009 season that has not received the unanimous agreement of all competitors entered in the 2009 Formula 1 Championship. »

« Since the change in the points system, unanimously approved by the teams and proposed to the FIA, no approval has been given by the WMSC, so no change can occur in 2009. The teams wish to reaffirm their willingness to collaborate with the FIA to jointly define a new points system for the 2010 season as part of a comprehensive set of measures aimed at further enhancing the appeal of Formula 1. »