DECEMBER 8, 2002

The political struggles grind on

The Financial Times newspaper is reporting that the negotiations between the Formula 1 authorities and the automobile manufacturers have reached an impasse and that Bernie Ecclestone has cancelled a December 11 meeting with the Grand Prix World Championship organisation because it failed to respond to a proposal he had made for a settlement. In addition to this it is reported that FIA boss Max Mosley told the F1 team principals last week that he FIA will not sanction the GPWC as a replacement series to Formula 1. Mosley is on strong ground here in that the job of the FIA is to maintain and nurture the sport rather than allow it to destroy itself.

Mosley will need to tread carefully on this path as the competition authorities of the European Commission has made it quite clear in the past that the federation cannot simply stop a championship it does not want, so long as the series abides by the necessary rules laid down by the FIA.

However it is very clear that the division of the sport's premier series into two competing championships would be a disaster for all concerned and so Mosley is acting for the good of the sport. There are strong arguments that the car manufacturers should not be in control of the sport as they are there to compete and being both participant and referee is a very dangerous situation.

It will be interesting to see whether the GPWC will react to the latest stories.