The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Ferrari and rest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

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Sport - Racing : Motor

Ferrari and rest — the split looms

LONDON, FEB. 1. Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone had his moment last month, persuading Ferrari to break from the other nine teams and sign a long-term deal to stay with his series.

By getting Ferrari to commit until 2012, Ecclestone hopes to head off an aggressive bid from rival GPWC. GPWC wants to run F-1 and oust Ecclestone — or set up a rival series — beginning in 2008.

``The Ferrari exit was definitely a loss,'' GPWC spokesman Xander Heijnen acknowledged. ``No need denying that. It was a surprise and a major blow.''

Ferrari was one of the founding members of Grand Prix World Championship — a holding company that still includes three major carmakers in F-1 — BMW, Mercedes and Renault.

GPWC gets its shot later this month at a meeting with the nine other teams. A date has not been set.

GPWC will be offering financial details, and says it will top Ecclestone's offer.

Ecclestone is reportedly ready to pay the teams $3 billion in the five years of the new Concorde Agreement, which would run from 2008-2012. That would be about three times more than the teams received in recent seasons.

The Concorde Agreement is between F-1 teams, Ecclestone and the FIA world governing body and spells out how money is divided, and how F-1 is governed. ``Losing Ferrari out of the GPWC and losing Ford last year, one has to ask how many more knocks GPWC can take,'' said Paul Stoddart, owner of the Minardi F-1 team and spokesman for the so-called ``Group of Nine.''

``Having said that, the GPWC has some awfully good ideas. I wouldn't write off the GPWC.''

Toyota, Honda in the act

By signing with Ecclestone, Ferrari has galvanized the other nine teams. The signing also drew Japanese manufacturers Toyota and Honda openly into F-1 politics. Toyota is the world's No. 2 car builder.

Apparently angered by Ferrari, the two joined BMW, Mercedes and Renault last week and issued a statement calling for more money for teams and sponsors, financial transparency and long-term stability. Toyota and Honda have not officially joined GPWC.

The statement was a not-so veiled criticism of Ecclestone and Max Mosley, president of the world governing body FIA.

The two are long-time friends. Mosley is Ecclestone's former lawyer. ``Toyota was not happy with the action taken by the FIA, FOM (Ecclestone) and Ferrari,'' said Tsutomi Tomita, Toyota F-1 team director. ``There was no prior consultation with any of the other teams on such an agreement.''

F-1 teams have complained that Ecclestone shares little of the sport's commercial rights income, which was estimated at US$800 million in 2003. Teams receive about 23 percent.

Increasingly, Ferrari seems to be going its own way.

Huge budget

The Italian team has dominated the sport the last five years, backed by a budget that dwarfs other teams — about $400 million. It has consistently opposed cost-cutting in F-1.

Ferrari skipped a meeting last week with Ecclestone and the other nine teams. At the meeting, the nine agreed to 30 days of testing in 2005 — a one-third reduction from last season. The eventual goal is 10 days of testing. — AP

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