Ferrari Ends GPWC Standoff by Making Surprise Deal with Ecclestone
'Shocking' News, from ITV-F1.com-
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FERRARI TURN BACK ON GPWC
Last Updated: Wednesday, 19, January, 2005, 17:19
Ferrari have agreed a deal with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management to stay in Formula 1 until 2012.
All three parties released a statement on Wednesday afternoon announcing that they had "agreed to prolong the Concorde Agreement for the period 2008 to 2012.".
The move delivers a potentially fatal blow to the Grand Prix World Championship, the breakaway series that was being set up by a consortium of car manufacturers – of which Ferrari’s parent company Fiat was one.
A triumphant Bernie Ecclestone said: “Formula One Management are delighted that this agreement is in place and that the future of Formula 1 has now been stabilised.”
It had been rumoured earlier in the season that Ecclestone would attempt to cut a unilateral deal with Ferrari.
The Scuderia’s immense prestige and worldwide following puts them on a different level from any other team. Neither Ecclestone nor his equivalents at the GPWC would want to contemplate running a championship without them.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: “It is important and also pleasing that the FIA, which is the governing body, and FOM, which represents those who have organised Formula 1 in these past years and Ferrari, which is the only team to have taken part in the world championship without a break since its inception, have put out a strong message of stability for the future of Formula 1.
“This agreement is in line with what Ferrari had hoped for, for a long time.”
It is not clear how much Ecclestone has had to pay to secure Ferrari’s cooperation – but it is likely to be a vast amount of money.
Ferrari already get more money than any other team under the existing Concorde Agreement, but Ecclestone is likely to have had to part with a whole lot more to encourage them to break ranks with the rest of the teams.
Where it leaves F1’s other nine teams is also a matter of conjecture. Will they continue to negotiate collectively with Ecclestone or follow Ferrari’s examples and sign individual deals?
FIA president Max Mosley has said in the past that he believes the teams will negotiate individually in future.
Mosley commented on the Ferrari deal: “We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Formula 1’s commercial rights holder and the oldest team in the championship.
“The agreement is significant because it will ensure the future development of the FIA’s most important championship.”
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