Several teams, including Ferrari, threatening to ditch Formula One

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Over the past week, five prominent Formula One teams, including Ferrari, which has competed in the world championship uninterrupted for the last 60 years, have threatened to pull out of the series if budget cap restrictions planned for the 2010 season aren’t revised or revoked.

Toyota got the let’s-ditch-F1 ball rolling when it announced it would pull out of the series if adjustments were not made to a voluntary $60-million budget cap that had been approved by the World Motor Sport Council. Since then, Red Bull, BMW, Ferrari and Renault have followed in its wake (McLaren-Mercedes could join them soon).

Although this isn’t the first time teams have threatened to quit Formula One (remember all that talk of forming a separate championship a few years back?), the big teams seem adamant about avoiding a series that would allow two different sets of technical regulations. The International Automobile Federation plans to give all teams working within the cap greater technical freedom with their cars, while teams operating outside the cap would be subject to tighter technical regulations.

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo described the system as ‘fundamentally unfair.’ Many in the Formula One community are afraid the series could lose a lot of credibility if the prancing horse stays hidden in Maranello, or (gasp!) decides to shift its focus to winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Although I think budget cap restrictions in Formula One are the way to go, the WMSC has been too draconian in its attempt to cut costs. Asking a team to downsize in a year to a $60-million budget from a one of roughly $200 million to $350 million is very difficult. Sure, championship leaders Brawn GP and a couple of other teams won’t have a problem getting under the cap, but you can’t expect big-budget teams such as Ferrari or Toyota to make cuts like that and be competitive next year.

The FIA and the Formula One Constructors Assn. need to agree on a budget that will be introduced in segments over the next two or three seasons. I realize this could hurt new teams planning to enter the series next year, such as Peter Windsor‘s American-based Formula One effort, US Grand Prix Engineering, but it’s the only way to keep the manufacturer-based teams in the series.

-- Austin Knoblauch