F1 breakaway series announced

The Formula One Teams’ Association has announced that it is setting up a breakaway championship.

The announcement was made after a four-hour meeting at Renault’s Enstone factory featuring the eight FOTA members – Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Brawn, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso.

In a press release, the teams explained their decision.

“The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA.

“The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored. Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006. Despite this and the uncompromising environment, FOTA has genuinely sought compromise.

“It has become clear however, that the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship.”

The declared the new series would have, “transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.”

It was reported that the Formula One teams had been given until today by the FIA to remove conditions they attached to their entries for next season’s series. FIA president Max Mosley had written to the teams yesterday offering them some of the concessions they wanted regarding governance of the sport, but said he would not change plans to introduce a budget cap.