Williams Thrown Out By F1 Teams' Association for Breaking Rank
Frank Williams' team is suspended after breaking ranks over the budget cap dispute and submitting an entry for the 2010 championship
Williams was yesterday kicked out of the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) for breaking ranks to become the first organization to file an official entry for the 2010 world championship before deadline – with two more teams set to follow suit. Brawn GP and the Silverstone-based Force India are understood to be ready to lodge their entries for next season, as a deal over the proposed budget cap neared resolution.
It is understood that Frank Williams, the Williams team's 67-year-old principal who is confined to a wheelchair, was made to wait outside a conference room at a Heathrow hotel for more than an hour while his fellow team bosses deliberated on the decision. The meeting was originally convened to demonstrate the unity of Fota – yet last night it looked in tatters as the teams continue to wrestle with their response to the FIA's call for reductions in the sport's cost base.
Williams was unmoved by the furore, making the point that his team was legally contracted to take part in the official formula one world championship until the end of 2012. "Fota's decision, although regrettable, is understandable," he said. "However as a racing team and a company whose only business is formula one, with obligations to our partners and employees, submitting our entry to next year's championship was always unquestionable."
It was an episode which highlighted the difficulties in reconciling the differing priorities of the various competitors against an economic backdrop which has already caused the withdrawal of Honda from the sport's most senior category and raised speculation that Toyota and Renault could be next to turn their back on the world championship.
"In truth Fota has now probably served its purpose as, before today, the teams and the FIA were edging closer to a compromise deal which would meet with the FIA's approval as a credible way of reducing costs and enhancing the sport's sustainability," said one of the sport's senior insiders. "The suggestion is that the teams agree to a budget cap of €100m for 2010, reducing to €45m in 2011, with one set of technical rules for all competitors."
The FIA would not comment on the issue but sources close to the governing body have hinted that Max Mosley, the FIA president, has been impressed with the amount of effort expended by Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, and Mercedes motorsport president Norbert Haug in attempting to work out an acceptable compromise.
It is understood that Frank Williams, the Williams team's 67-year-old principal who is confined to a wheelchair, was made to wait outside a conference room at a Heathrow hotel for more than an hour while his fellow team bosses deliberated on the decision. The meeting was originally convened to demonstrate the unity of Fota – yet last night it looked in tatters as the teams continue to wrestle with their response to the FIA's call for reductions in the sport's cost base.
Williams was unmoved by the furore, making the point that his team was legally contracted to take part in the official formula one world championship until the end of 2012. "Fota's decision, although regrettable, is understandable," he said. "However as a racing team and a company whose only business is formula one, with obligations to our partners and employees, submitting our entry to next year's championship was always unquestionable."
It was an episode which highlighted the difficulties in reconciling the differing priorities of the various competitors against an economic backdrop which has already caused the withdrawal of Honda from the sport's most senior category and raised speculation that Toyota and Renault could be next to turn their back on the world championship.
"In truth Fota has now probably served its purpose as, before today, the teams and the FIA were edging closer to a compromise deal which would meet with the FIA's approval as a credible way of reducing costs and enhancing the sport's sustainability," said one of the sport's senior insiders. "The suggestion is that the teams agree to a budget cap of €100m for 2010, reducing to €45m in 2011, with one set of technical rules for all competitors."
The FIA would not comment on the issue but sources close to the governing body have hinted that Max Mosley, the FIA president, has been impressed with the amount of effort expended by Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, and Mercedes motorsport president Norbert Haug in attempting to work out an acceptable compromise.
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