FOTA on the Brink of Implosion

Since the announcement of a possible overrun of the RRA – Resource Restriction Agreement – by Red Bull, tensions have risen among certain members of the FOTA – the Formula One Teams Association. The Austrian team has denied any breach of the RRA. But beyond this possible overrun, it is the entire RRA itself that could be called into question.

The different team principals – except Colin Kolles from HRT, since the Spanish team is no longer part of FOTA – met in South Korea, but according to Autosport, this was not enough to reach an agreement on the RRA compliance, and another meeting is set to take place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a month.

Ross Brawn believes that the RRA is at a key moment in its existence, as most teams are well below the set threshold, but the top three or four teams can flirt with this limit or even exceed it.

« I think that on our side, we respect the RRA but I think we are at a crossroads, I think we are at a crossroads, because it is starting to affect the three or four teams that need to control their resources to comply with (the RRA). I think there are seven or eight teams for whom the RRA means nothing because they will always be well below the limit, » Ross Brawn said in Korea.

We are now at a stage where the objectives we had set are starting to become restrictive for three or four teams, and that’s where the controversy begins. We have not yet structured the checks and verifications adequately for everyone to be at ease, and this leads to insinuations and accusations.

Ross Brawn nevertheless insisted that he was in favor of such an agreement to limit the costs incurred by the different teams, but more needed to be done to truly make the RRA effective.

We are totally in favor of the RRA, but in our opinion, it needs to be more robust in the way things are controlled and verified because it affects performance. You cannot deny that a team spending five million more each year will have an advantage over a team that does not, so everything must be well-controlled, very well verified, and there must be a reference that is the same for all teams. Otherwise, there will be no guarantee of parity, and I think for us, the RRA is at a crossroads, added the director of the Mercedes GP team.

But the real controversy over the future of FOTA came through the usual troublemaker, Scuderia Ferrari, and more specifically Stefano Domenicali. The director of the Italian team suggested that the teams should question the usefulness of FOTA, especially after such a disagreement.

« We agreed to continue discussions in Abu Dhabi to ensure that a solution, a final solution, will be reached. Moreover, what we are saying is if this mistrust ends FOTA, then what is the use of FOTA? We know why FOTA was created, and we now need to understand if FOTA is still useful. What are the future goals of FOTA, if there is a future for FOTA? » Stefano Domenicali told Autosport.

Christian Horner, the Red Bull team director, agreed with Domenicali, stating in Korea that something must be done to define the objectives of FOTA, otherwise the team might withdraw.

« I think FOTA is at a crossroads where we need to address key issues to move forward or we will stop. It’s as simple as that. The main issues are obviously the Concorde Agreements, the direction they are taking, and the RRA. If we are not able to reach an agreement within FOTA on this, then what is the point of FOTA? » Christian Horner told Reuters.

But despite these internal tensions, Martin Whitmarsh, the director of the McLaren team who also serves as President of FOTA, sought to reassure about the future of the association.

«No, I am not (concerned about the future of FOTA). I think that FOTA is an association that has private meetings, and I don’t think I’ve often, hopefully never, talked about what was said during those meetings. It would be wrong to do so. We are not a press release machine; we are here to move things forward. FOTA should be very proud of what it has achieved so far. We can only succeed in doing what our members want, and I think there is still work to be done for us to play an important role in this sport, but we will continue to move forward, » Martin Whitmarsh told Autosport.

Even though Whitmarsh remains confident about the future, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes seem truly determined to break away if no agreement is reached in the coming weeks. And these tensions within FOTA could be a boon for another player in the Formula One Circuit, Bernie Ecclestone, who would be delighted to divide the teams to better reign.