JUNE 18, 2002

Why there needs to be a new Concorde Agreement...

The FIA has informed the team owners that the Concorde Agreement, on which the commercial structure is based, is full of legal loopholes.

THE FIA has informed the team owners that the Concorde Agreement, on which the commercial structure is based, is full of legal loopholes. We hear that FIA President Max Mosley sent a letter to the team principals yesterday pointing out there was no clause in the agreement to back up claims that money can be divided up between the teams as they wish.

According to our sources Mosley then went on to make a very telling point, pointing out that there are serious problems relating to prize money as the Concorde Agreement does not give any details of what happens when a team withdraws from the World Championship (which has been the issue in the recent battle over the Prost Grand Prix money). Mosley seems to have suggested that it is quite possible that a car manufacturer could win the World Championship and then withdrew from Formula 1. The money which would have been paid to the team would be kept by FOM because there is no rule to cover that eventuality.

The teams will not be pleased with this news, which is obviously intended to hurry along the process of creating a new Concorde Agreement.