FIA–FOTA dispute

Did You Know?

• The origins of the dispute trace back to mid-2008 when regulations for the 2009 season—the single biggest overhaul in the sport's sixty-year history—were approved.
• The FIA received entries from fifteen interested parties for the three new grid slots, including Prodrive, Lola, USF1 and Brabham.

Threat of breakaway series

In the week preceding the British Grand Prix, the eight remaining FOTA teams wrote to the FIA, calling for an urgent compromise and requesting an extension to the deadline to negotiate a new Concorde Agreement. The letter indicated willingness to commit until 2012 and to supply new teams with technical knowledge. The FIA replied within two hours, stating willingness to deal with FOTA but that the June 19 deadline would stand due to obligations to potential new teams and the inability to agree on a new Concorde Agreement quickly. Mosley's proposal included a budget cap, fixed engine and gearbox rules, allowance of tyre warmers, a willingness to review the FIA's International Court of Appeal, and abandonment of a controversial appendix giving the FIA unconditional authority to set rules. After a meeting at Renault's base in Enstone, the eight FOTA teams announced intentions to press ahead with a breakaway series, similar to divisions in American open-wheel racing. After threatening legal action, the FIA renounced its position and offered to talk, but FOTA disagreed, claiming the decision was made. Red Bull's Christian Horner felt it was foolish to commit too soon. Bernie Ecclestone vowed to ensure the sport's future, calling the issues "basically, nothing". Fan opinion polls showed overall support for the breakaway series: a Sky Sport poll indicated 91% of Italian fans would support it, and a Network 10 poll showed over 65% of respondents supporting the new FOTA series over Formula One.

Further complications

On 8 July, the FOTA group walked out of a meeting with the FIA about future rules. FOTA were informed they were not entered for the 2010 season and could have no input on regulatory discussions. Plans for a breakaway series were still pursued. However, on the weekend of the German Grand Prix, FOTA teams expressed confidence in ending the debate, intending to negotiate a new Concorde Agreement directly with CVC. Bernie Ecclestone announced he would be involved and vowed to have the sport's future secured within forty-eight hours. On July 15, it was confirmed that Max Mosley would step down from the FIA Presidency. On July 6, an unnamed team accused the FIA of selecting new teams based on having no association with current manufacturers. On July 12, unsuccessful applicant N.Technology filed a legal challenge in Paris, claiming they were informed the only way to receive an entry for 2010 was to nominate a Cosworth spec-engine. The case was heard on October 13, and on November 10 the French courts rejected N.Technology's claims.

Zoran Stefanovic and the European Commission

Following N.Technology's lawsuit, a complaint was made to the European Commission by Zoran Stefanovic, an aspiring team principal supporting N.Technology's claims that the FIA required new teams to nominate a Cosworth engine to join the 2010 grid. Stefanovic intended to field a team called Stefan Grand Prix and had explored acquiring engines from a current manufacturer. His complaint claimed the FIA demonstrated bias in the selection process and violated anti-competition laws, requesting the process be redone. Stefanovic had attempted to enter Formula One twice before, including an attempt to purchase the remains of Lola's 1997 attempt. He claimed the FIA showed bias not only against non-Cosworth teams but also against teams classified as manufacturers, citing that new teams Manor, Campos and USF1 outsourced chassis design, whereas Stefan Grand Prix had support from Serbian aircraft manufacturer AMCO and could build their own cars. He argued this bias was supported by Prodrive's failure to make the grid. Stefanovic had the support of disgraced McLaren engineer Mike Coughlan. Despite his planned action, he announced intentions to field a team for the season-opening race in Bahrain without a grid position, similar to the Phoenix Finance attempt. He cited the FIA granting a fourteenth grid position to Peter Sauber's Qadbak Investments team as precedent, claiming the FIA might grant another special entry if a team withdrew, though the FIA asserted that special provisions would not be issued in such a case.

Aftermath

The budget cap rules did not enter Formula One for the 2010 season. BMW and Toyota left Formula One; BMW Sauber became just Sauber, running Ferrari engines in Toyota's former grid spot until 2018 when it became Alfa Romeo Racing. The new teams that joined in 2010—Team Lotus, Virgin Racing, HRT Formula 1 Team—did not survive the rest of the 2010s even after ownership changes. In 2016, Haas F1 Team joined, bringing the grid to 10 teams, a stable state for a decade until Cadillac F1 Team was granted entry in 2026, pushing the grid back to 11 teams. In 2020, Formula One teams agreed to introduce a cost cap for the 2021 season, initially set at $175 million before being reduced to $145 million due to the covid-19 pandemic. The cost cap includes exceptions such as marketing costs, driver salaries, salaries of the three highest-paid team employees, team heritage activities, finance costs, and taxes. The 2021 cost cap is twice as high in allowed spending as the cap proposed in 2009. Also in 2020, Formula One introduced a $200 million franchise fee for new teams, shared across the 10 existing teams, to show multi-year commitment and offset prize fund dilution. Previously, the franchise fee was gradually returned to the team.