Budget cap has Montezemolo up in arms

[WhiteBlue]

According to James Allen's blog there have been threats by Luca de Montezemolo that Ferrari isn't interested in competing an F1 2010 championship if a budget cap is put in place.

It used to be McLaren, who were the main opposition to the FIA air superiority over the rules battle field. With Stepneygate and Lyegate that seems to have changed. Ron Dennis has stepped back in oder to build his sports car and the former glorious leading teams are struggling to come back from mid and back marker positions on the grid.

The fans seem to be unimpressed and enjoying the show with some new teams and drivers taking the honors. So what is the thinking how this apparent confrontation between Ferrari and the FIA is going to work out?

Even more interesting why is there a confrontation in the first place if the FIA is supposed to be the executive arm of Ferrari as McLaren supporters have told us for a decade?

Isn't it all much more an issue of a new sporting spirit? If motor racing is supposed to be a sport then wealth and resources make a difference in the sporting sense. Top professional sports have player salary caps in place to stop rich teams simply outspending the others to usurp the top spot for ages. It appears that this also makes sense for F1.

I the light of this view I see Montezemolo pursuing a "Ferrari first and only" kind of policy. If they are as good as they make believe they would agree to compete on equal or at least simillar terms with new entrants and to a scheme how to bring the budget down to a sensible level in a reasonable time frame.

[nudger]

Even more interesting why is there a confrontation in the first place if the FIA is supposed to be the executive arm of Ferrari as McLaren supporters have told us for a decade?

times change.
a few yrs back the welfare of ferrari was seemingly given high priority by the fia.
That no longer is the case. its been quite clear for at least the last 12 months that the relationship between ferrari and the fia was very poor, and getting worse by the month.

[modbaraban]

Top professional sports have player salary caps in place....

Name a few, please.

[flynfrog]

Top professional sports have player salary caps in place....

Name a few, please.

from the american saide all of our major sports do now I belive

base ball football basket ball

not that I'm for a budget cap anyway. Its pretty obvious this year that money doesn't necessarily buy a win.

Racing is always about how you manage your rescores. look at Alonso on the Renault. --- car but they are getting there moneys worth out of Alonso driving it right now.

Vettle is not being paid much right now but he is in an amazing car. If they would have paid him double they couldn't have built that car.

[Fil]

USA: NFL, NHL, MLS, NBA

UK: Both top Rugby Leagues

Australia: NRL, AFL, A-League

India: IPL

Interestingly, Europe seems to have none. this is because the EU forbids countries from banning their players being signed up in other countries (notably those that would not have a salary cap in place).

F1 would not have this problem as, unlike football, there is no rival race series on an equal status in Europe for F1 drivers to run to. Not at the moment anyway.

[WhiteBlue]

In F1 driver salaries are not the biggest problem because engineering is more important to the outright pace of the car. The driver can make a difference but it is significantly smaller than the impact of the total spread of the cars in the field.

This is why a player salary cap translates into a budget salary cap in F1. If people are under the delusion that Brawn was a small team when they designed the current car I have to remind them of fact that Honda payed for that design. In summer 2008 they had a test that confirmed already their superiority in terms of downforce from their diffusor. It was reported that they exceeded the supposed downforce by 50%. I remember that I became very waery of that information and thought the FIA would renage on the introduction of the slicks.

Brawn isn't a case of a poor team finding performance but a rich team not finding performance due to mismanagement and constant infighting. On top the mismanagement was completely ignored by the owners for years.

So the case for budget caps as a means of a level playing field is indeed supported by many professional international sports doing the same. How do we have to see Ferrari in that light? Are they trying to keep an unfair advantage?

[Fil]

is Ferrari bluffing tho?

can Ferrari exist in its current successful corporate form without F1 to boost its credentials?
this brand needs to be involved in the pinnacle of motorsport, as perceived by the public, to maintain its own brand and point of differentiation from its road rivals.

i think the FIA can call Ferrari's bluff on this and press on without fear of losing the team.

[modbaraban]

F1 would not have this problem as, unlike football, there is no rival race series on an equal status in Europe for F1 drivers to run to. Not at the moment anyway.

Spanky and Gnome are trying hard to get F1 down to the level of A1GP and such

As you said, many manufacturers enjoy being envolved in the pinnacle of motorsports but the do have more and more doubts if F1 is the pinnaccle still.

[Rob W]

Interestingly, Europe seems to have none. this is because the EU forbids countries from banning their players being signed up in other countries..

They do in rugby league. Whatever the main English league is called (Bartercard cup?) has salary caps and nationality restrictions too (i.e. you can't have a whole team of foreigners).

[Rob W]

Remember also that Ferrari are possibly the worst hit F1 team in terms of company-wide business from the current financial climate. Ferrari use their F1 team as marketing spend for the brand. As luxury item sales are tightening up they are hit hardest and longest. (Don't believe PR bluster about some high-value brands riding through this recession - they're fudging already sold-in figures for cars which are earmarked 18 months to 2 years ahead, and factoring in re-sales which, for Ferrari, happen mostly through their own branded stores unlike most other makes of car)

Ferrari run a very, very big machine of an operation in a country with quite restrictive labour nuances (unions etc) compared to the UK where most other teams are based. Italy itself is also much more volatile economy than the UK, contributing to the rising cost-of and access-to finance etc.

It suits de Montezemolo to pursue this idea - maybe Fiat are busting their balls and saying "we're letting you spend on this as a marketing activity, but you're not getting the results this year... maybe it's time to reign it in a bit."

[Conceptual]

Over the history of F1, many teams have come, and many have gone.

But, there will ALWAYS be a winning team in F1, and possibly dominance for several years time.

Winning teams/drivers will ALWAYS have a following. It is a tendancy of people to automatically root for the dominant team. How many Ferrari fans were made during the Schumacher Era? Millions! Why? Because when one team dominates, it is hard for people to root for teams/drivers that have ZERO chance of winning.

Then you have the people that like the underdogs (like myself), or the people that like the backmarker because they were dominant YEARS AGO (Williams). And also, you get fans that like the backmarkers just because they think it makes them cool to root for a team that always disappoints.

The bottom line of this is that no matter WHAT TEAMS compete, there will ALWAYS be fans of F1. That is why the teams don't leave. It does not affect the F1 Championship if Ferrari are not in it. Many Ferrari fans will root for someone else, quite possibly the new dominant team, and will not leave.

I think Bernie/Max know this, and the time of kissing a teams ass just to keep them in the Championship is over. The guard has changed, and if Monty is truly pulling this card, I think he will get the "Good Riddance" finger flip from Mr. Ecclestone on his way out.

[xpensive]

I think what has happened is that since Jean Todt left, Ferrari has discovered what having a "preferred winner" status was all about, when it was all down to some very personal relations of a most intricate kind.

Anyway, Ferrari is today an F1 team pretty much like every other, the way it should be and the way it was all through the 60s to mid 90s, sometimes they won and sometimes not, but always with that exotic charm, choleric management and screaming V12s.

Montezemolo knows all this of course, winning or losing they will always be Ferrari and I belive few people buy Ferraris based on results in F1, why I doubt if he thinks it's worth it to pay himself back to the top again.

But flexing a little muscle now and again won't hurt when bargaining with the EvilTwins.

[vall]

I don't think Ferrari will go that far to quit. However, the question to me is is it really all about having F1, no matter which teams are in (as Conceptual claims)? Would it better to have teams like Lola, USF1, etc, at the cost of loosing Ferrari, and possibly other established teams? I think no, F1 will definitely loose its glamour if Ferrari goes IMO. It is always good to have underdogs messing the order from time to time, but ultimately most of the fans are interested in the battle between the big ones.

[jddh1]

If Ferrari does leave it will be a huge blow to F1, no question in my mind. Just look at the Ferrari fans on the stands on each GP weekend.
And I do think Luca di Montezemolo is not bluffing. If the salary cap is 33 mill he'll pull the team out. If the cap is 50 mill, he'll pull out. However, if the cap is somewhat higher, to allow for research back at the factory, he'll keep his Ferraris on the grid.

[DaveKillens]

I have one personal theory, which I call "The Hand In The Bucket Of Water".
Take a bucket, fill it with water. Then place your entire hand in it. Remove your hand, and observe what happens. The water fills in behind the hand, and it appears that the hand never existed.
Now apply this theory to Michael Schumacher's retirement. Back when he was racing, this forum, and many others were flooded by legions of self-described devoted Schumacher fans. But now leap forward to the present, and observe just how little of those fans remain. My point? Fans soon forget, and they move on. The same could apply to Ferrari if they actually pull out of Formula One. First off, there will be a hue and cry,and the gnashing of teeth by Ferrari fans. It will eventually subside, and after a few years, people will forget, or become disinterested. After a decade, the circus known as Formula One will continue, there will be other teams, and Ferrari's legacy in Formula One will fall into the history books, just like Lotus, Brabahm, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Vanwall, Cooper, BRM, Eagle-Weslake, Matra, March, Tyrrell, Hesketh, Penske, Wolf, and Ligier.

If a budget cap is put in place, and the trend towards standardized parts, especially engines, continues, then many teams such as BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Ferrari, and Renault would be in a position where it becomes untenable to spend such lavish sums of money in Formula One. Ferrari are not unique, they are in the same boat as many others.

Right now, Monty is singing the blues. And the reason is obvious, Ferrari are in the midst of a horrible season. Just like a spoiled child not getting their way, Ferrari are suffering what I can only describe as a temper tantrum. Throwing toys around, wailing and crying for hours, and becoming a general nuisance to all. It's a shame, because I have a ton of respect for the fine people at Ferrari who really make it happen. The technicians, the scientists and researchers, the mechanics and the countless hard-working people who toil away from the glare of the media. But the people who stand in front of the cameras, the ones who command the media attention, the ones who make a small fortune each year, these people are blaming everyone but themselves. And the problem is, every team in Formula One all started equal this year, and while some succeed, some run mid-pack, and some struggle, Ferrari have found themselves with just 3 points, all because of their decisions. They are responsible for their situation,
Trust me on this one, Monty would not be making such an ass of himself if Ferrari were on top of the charts.