The F1 team principals met with the FIA President Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone, the Commercial Rights Holder in paris today. The teams were presented with the latest structure of governance, including the new conditions of entry for the Concorde Agreement, starting in 2013. According to the FIA this resulted in “a fruitful and helpful debate on how the new structure would operate in 2013 and beyond”. The federation said that this was “a further important step” to secure the future of the F1 World Championship and hopes that this will result in a final settlement being reached between the FIA, the Commercial Rights Holder and the teams in the coming weeks.
Wasn’t that meeting supposed to take place tomorrow (23rd)?
Yea thats what i thought!James Allen saying its tommorrow!i knew F1 was a mess but …..
Is that James ‘look at all those cars !’ Allen ? So who’s correct here, Joe or James ?
Check the date when the article was posted, not the date you read it. Both James and Joe are correct!
Was this all team principles Joe or just the favourite six?
I read elsewhere that Todt was forced to deny that he was being pressured into giving up some control in exchange for more money, however I understand that this has been the fate of the teams not of Todt. Were it true that Todt also was giving up control, then we would have Bernie writing the rules or maybe his mate Flav. then we may as well all give up.
I believe it was all of them
Old Flav has been repeating ad nauseam that he is not involved anymore in F1. Of course Bernie misses him because he was good company, as he said. But then I don’t think Flav gets along with very well with Todt. I would like to know if old bad Flav had really something to do with the new Concorde.
The sport is better off without him.
Celebrity revelations are in the news at present (if I say ‘how’s about that then guys and gals’ you can guess what I’m alluding to). I’m wondering how much dirt will eventually be dug up about certain well-known figures in our sport when they are no more and unable to instruct lawyers (and/or hit men!) to keep everyone stum. And how many people will feign surprise. Just a thought. “Now then now then….”
I think the Flav has actually benefited from all the other more prominent scandals, and the economic collapse. Could we benefit by forgetting him? I used to think the recollection cautionary, but I just can no longer think why he’s relevant.
Flav apart (I agree, he’s no longer relevant) I’m thinking more of BE. Now there’s an interesting story to be told. You wait…..
Ecclestone writing the rules would be a severe infringement of the rules the European Commission stated. If this would happen, the commercial rights holder being responsible for the sporting and technical rules, the Commission will come down on him like they did once before. Even if it`s done “indirectly”, like Ecclestone does usually.
This is not happening and never was.
There was a untimely change of commissioners middle of that debate.
Without asserting if good or bad, any of it, if I was about to look over a new proposed CA, I would really want to insist I saw the actual records as to how that went down at the competition commission. I’d at least try. If nothing else, because it’s be top orientation. But most of the press can’t even recall the press releases, it seems . .
One might argue, speciously, that the EU / EEC et.al. urgently need some brownie points for clarity in their dealings, whilst they are bunged up bunging the economy fudge.
I think a lot of suspicion arises unfairly from the realistic assessment that Max M can be one heck of a player. He so unfairly speaks French and German, also. Naturally, he is taking the mickey that he bothered to train and take the Bar. It’s all so not fair . . That just isn’t allowable diplomatic advantage
Why do I think this is the first throw of the dice in a long game?
Joe, what happens if no agreement is reached? Clearly F1 must go on and can go on without a Concorde, but does this mean that FOM just pocket all the TV money and do not have to redistribute any to the teams? And is that the ace in Bernie’s hand – the teams have to sign to get their share of the TV revenue?
I would think it’s as simple as : You don’t sign, you don’t race.
Well no. Signing Concorde or joining FOTA are not necessary to enter FIA Grands Prix. A few years ago McLaren, Williams and Tyrell all declined to sign the then latest Concorde and still competed, scored points and so on. My question here is what happens if none or a majority of the teams don’t sign.
I hope whoever drafts the CA successor agreements will insist that in the event of a hiatus, that all monies are collected by a escrow account / blind trust.
I’ve drafted (not perfected, i.e. written the final legal form) such clauses, and they are always resisted, but really handy when you have unhappy factions, and potentially even better if you are trying to do the right thing, but someone gets litigious. I believe in any multi party contract that might cause common harm in the event of disputed continuation, or succession, that is the right plan.
I’m sure that Joe will correct me if his thoughts differ but I think that you’ll that the current contracts run until cancelled or superseded.
edit: that you’ll find that
you mean effective contract. Just will say that attorneys love those. It means everything is varied by how people behave. Almost, but it’s the gist of things.
I don’t think they cab run on because the 2013 regs do not mention being formulated in accordance with a CA but instead with “The Code” (ISC) Whilst contrarily the 2014 tech regs which of course include the new engine specs are written in accordance with the 2009 CA which has now expired, so are they valid?
Isn’t the payment by the teams a bit like Lance Armstrong paying the UCI which is now seen as a conflict of interest?
Ouch! Way too topical, and nowhere near the case, if you look into the histories of how things have been done. Bernie’s earlier years may well have been fast dealing, but he did a lot more of that in plain sight that who moans now wants to let on. For myself, I just think we ended up with a broken structure for a host of other reasons.
If you want a equivalent, though, just remember the SEC was instigated at the behest of brokers who wanted a government mantle to legitimize their business. Same in Blighty. I’ve no fancy to think what is going on in cycling, their sporting body chief let rip so much bitterness and frustration, i’d feel bad chiming in any which way. I think if it was that bad, in F1, we’d not be going racing any time soon.
The teams don’t pay Bernie. Bernie distributes TV revenues. The teams pay an entry fee to FIA.
Joe – there are reports that HRT and Marussia haven’t been offered terms as part of the revised Concorde Agreement. Given that there wouldn’t be time for new teams to have 2013 cars ready, do you think there are moves afoot by Bernie to “restructure” the bottom teams?
I would not worry about the reports.
Bernie sharp as a tack fending off German prosecutors and keeping Benz in the sport with one hand and juggling the teams and FIA with the other. The ringmaster still has it, impressive.