F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone wants to renegotiate the Concorde Agreement, the document which has ruled F1 for the past 22 years, to help end the disquiet between F1 teams and the FIA.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone wants to renegotiate the Concorde Agreement, the document which has ruled F1 for the past 22 years, to help end the disquiet between F1 teams and the FIA.
F1 observers believe that Ecclestone’s move will be vital to securing the long-term future of the racing formula.
According to , Ecclestone believes that a new deal could be negotiated within the next two weeks, which would allow teams access to the massive funds generated by F1’s commercial activities.
The current deal requires unanimous agreement between teams for changes to be made to F1 rules and relgulations and, as CARtoday.com reported recently, that’s one of the reasons the FIA and top teams McLaren-Mercedes and Williams-BMW are at odds.
“We are bogged down with history and folklore,” Ecclestone was quoted as saying. “The regulations do not reflect today’s values and what we need to be doing now. If everybody sits around a table, we could start work on it now, but I need the teams and the rest to say they want change.”
Ecclestone also lambasted the F1 engine manufacturers, who say they want to set up their own championship, the GPWC, when the current Concorde Agreement runs out at the end of 2007.
“They (the manufacturers) wanted to come in because F1 is a big car showroom for them and we are just helping them to sell cars,” said Ecclestone. “The are just holding out to take control of F1 without paying any money for it. The whole thing has become a nightmare. F1 doesn’t need this sort of trouble and we need to find a way to negotiate a new Concorde Agreement so teams can be looked after and we can see the future clearly.”
Earlier this week, Renault spokesman Patrick Faure hinted that current car manufacturers were looking for someone to replace Ecclestone as the head of F1 when their new series gets off the ground in 2008.
“We asked a head hunter to find a new Bernie,” Faure told . “He would be international renowned, would know sport well, be skilful in terms of marketing and of TV rights, but above all he would be a real boss. To avoid any suspicion, this person will not be one of ours, even if Luca Di Montezemolo (the boss of Ferrari) has the ideal profile.”
reports that engine manufacturers are still threatening to set up their own rival series in 2008 if they can’t come to a deal with the banks that control 75 per cent of the commercial interests of Formula One.
In the same interview, Faure said Renault agreed with McLaren and Williams views on the new rules and regulations and would be writing to the FIA in the near future.