View from the Pitlane with Brian Sims

It's becoming serious! Anyone who thinks that Ferrari, Renault and co are bluffing when they say that they will pull out of Formula 1 had better think again. The fact that Ferrari was prepared to go to court, albeit unsuccessfully, to try to secure an injunction against the FIA's cost-capping measures, provides strong evidence of the company's intention not to compete with a two-tier system in 2010.

It's worth considering the consequences of the FIA and the manufacturer-led teams falling out. The teams seem to be led by Ferrari, which is quite ironic in a way, because when the proposed breakaway of the teams nearly took place some 2 years ago, as was looking likely to happen, it was Ferrari who sided with the FIA and effectively prevented that breakaway coming about. What Luca di Montezemelo, the Ferrari President, is now saying is that 2 of the main concerns that he has are:

1: That even if the team wanted to meet the £40 million ca! p next season, it would be an
impossibility from a timing point of view. This would result in them being totally
uncompetitive in 2010 (or should we say even more so than they have been so far this
year !). Bear in mind that reputation matters far more to an auto manufacturer, who is
in F1 primarily to sell more cars, than it does to a straightforward racing team with no
manufacturer link

2: That to race against what are effectively expanded GP2 teams, such as Addax, RML,
Campos and some of the other new teams that would be competing under different rules
to the uncapped teams, is unacceptable to Ferrari, as it would be to Toyota, Mercedes
and Renault.

One has to remember that Formula 1 has always been about a combination of amazing, innovative technological advances and what are supposed to be best drivers in the world. Over the years, the minds of F1 engineers and designers! have been stretched to a tremendous extent, resulting in a hi! gh techn ology industry that is involved in a massive amount of technology transfer with sectors such as the aerospace and marine industries. If F1 becomes nothing more than a jumped up GP2 series, which is what is likely to happen, what will happen to all of those engineers and designers? Where will the next generation come from to get their experience?

Do we really want to see a Formula 1 World Championship devoid of the likes of Ferrari and Renault? Do we want to see a two-tier system of racing? If your answer is yes, then ask yourself why is it that a mere handful of people tune in to watch the GP2 race that precedes the Grand Prix, as opposed to the hundreds of millions that watch each Grand Prix. After all, GP2 is so much cheaper to run than F1. Is an F1 series without Ferrari credible? Is tradition important? You tell me!

F1 as we know it might be extravagant and of course there do need to be curbs on some of the expenditure, but F1 should surely be about! the best engineers, the best technicians, the best designers and the best drivers. It showbiz! It's razz matazz. It lightens our lives on a Sunday afternoon. Yes, we need to recognize that we're in tough times, but isn't that just when we need some larger than life excitement and glamour.

Or am I just old retired racing driver clamouring for the good old days! Who knows? Anyway, I'm off to finish my cocoa before having an early night!