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F1: FIA to halt legal action against F1 breakaway teams

International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley said on Sunday that legal action against the eight Formula One teams planning a breakaway series will be halted to encourage reconciliation.

However, in another twist to the standoff threatening to tear F1 apart, Mosley claimed that any rival championship would still have to be regulated by the FIA. That’s despite the fact that the teams say they are leaving F1 because talks with Mosley over next year’s entry to the F1 world championship have collapsed over his plans for a £40 million (US$65 million) budget cap.

After the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) announced the split on Friday, motor sport’s governing body had said that proceedings would be issued without delay because of “serious violations of law.”

But Mosley said on Sunday: “There won’t be any writ. I think we would rather talk than litigate. We are very, very close as far as the facts are concerned. It’s just if the teams want to sit down and iron out the last few difficulties.”

While Mosley was claiming progress toward a solution, the eight breakaway teams — McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso — dismissed that notion.

Mosley recognizes the need for a swift resolution, echoing McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh’s declaration on Saturday that any deal — which he says he doesn’t expect — must come by the end of next month.

“I would agree with that,” Mosley said. “If this goes on for any length of time, it damages the teams.”

What won’t assist the peace talks is Mosley referring to the more hardline FOTA members as “loonies” who are “immoderate in their approach.”

If the proposed series comes to fruition, Mosley said he has informed FOTA that the FIA would still be the rival championship’s ultimate regulator because of a deal struck between it and the European Commission.

“It’s absolutely correct, we said that to them,” Mosley said.That was acknowledged by Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn.

“You would need a regulatory body,” Brawn said. “Ironically, I think the agreement with the European Commission is that the FIA has to offer to do that to any competitive series that wants to set up. So, the FIA have to offer to at least be the regulatory body, but they may not be the body that sets the rules. The rules can be determined by some other mechanism. If you want, the FIA can run the series for you.”
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