FIA–FOTA dispute

The FIA–FOTA dispute was a series of ongoing political clashes between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) over proposed changes to the rules and regulations for the 2010 Formula One season. The debate began over the introduction of a budget cap and culminated on the eve of the 2009 British Grand Prix with the FOTA teams announcing their intention to form their own rival breakaway series. From that point onwards, the dispute was eased to the point at which a new Concorde Agreement was signed in August 2009.

The origins of the dispute may be traced as far back as the middle of 2008 when regulations that would see the single biggest overhaul in the sport's sixty-year history were approved for the 2009 season. Early in 2009, FIA President Max Mosley put forth a proposal for 2010 intended to secure the sport's future in the face of the ongoing economic situation. The proposal included an optional budget cap of €30 million, with greater technical and design freedoms allowed to teams who nominated to use it. This was a point of contention among the teams, who objected to what was essentially two different sets of rules within the championship.

In response to this, Ferrari filed an injunction with a French court in Paris in an attempt to stop the proposed regulations from being implemented. The courts ruled that Ferrari's objections were baseless; given its history and close association with the sport, the team had been awarded a technical veto a decade beforehand that would have allowed them to prevent any regulation changes they disagreed with, but the court ruled that as Ferrari had not used the veto at the previous meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council, they did not have grounds for a legal challenge.

Seven of the FOTA teams – Ferrari, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Renault, Brawn GP, Red Bull and Toro Rosso announced their intentions to withdraw from the 2010 championship by virtue of not submitting entries. At the time, Bernie Ecclestone believed a compromise with the teams may be possible, but on May 15, the FIA failed to reach a settlement with the teams.

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