Ferrari has joined Toyota and Red Bull in threatening to leave Formula One at the end of the year unless changes are made to the budget cap regulations. With a voluntary £40m cap coming into force in 2010, the technical freedom being offered to the capped teams under the current set of regulations would result in the un-capped team falling three or four seconds behind their capped counterparts, and with Ferrari unable to compete at £40m for 2010, they would find themselves battling for the lower placings behind the capped teams.
While announcing a €54m trading profit from the first quarter of 2009, Ferrari's Board of Directors slammed the FIA for the way in which they introduced the budget cap, withing consluting the teams and having disregarded the rules of governance used over the last 25 years. Ferrari also claims that a contractual agreement between itself and the FIA on the stability of the regulations was disregarded.
“The Board of Directors examined developments related to recent decisions taken by the FIA during an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on 29 April 2009,” read a Ferrari statement issued this afternoon. “Although this meeting was originally called only to examine a disciplinary matter, the decisions taken mean that, for the first time ever in Formula 1, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters.”
“The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula 1 in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari's uninterrupted participation in the World Championship over the last 60 years would come to a close,” continued the statement. “The Board also expressed its disappointment about the methods adopted by the FIA in taking decisions of such a serious nature and its refusal to effectively reach an understanding with constructors and teams. The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula 1 over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations.”
The statement went on to stress that one set of rules for the entire grid, stability of those rules and the continued work of FOTA were critical for the future of F1. Unless those priorities were respected and the regulations changed, Ferrari will not partake in Formula One in 2010.
“The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of the FOTA's endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula 1 are the priorities for the future,” added Ferrari. “If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula 1 World Championship.”
“Ferrari trusts that its many fans worldwide will understand that this difficult decision is coherent with the Scuderia's approach to motor sport and to Formula 1 in particular, always seeking to promote its sporting and technical values. The Chairman of the Board of Directors was mandated to evaluate the most suitable ways and methods to protect the company's interests,” concluded the statement.
Ferrari and FOTA President Luca di Montezemolo is due to meet with FIA President Max Mosley in the run-up to next fortnight's Monaco Grand Prix to discuss the controversial budget cap, with more teams likely to add their weight to the spat before then.