FOTA Finds Loophole and FIA Backs Down on Winner Takes All

Earlier today FOTA, who had voiced their opinion regarding the new F1 Winner takes all rule and the late implementation of it has had this to say:

“Following the decision of the World Motorsport Council of the 17 March 2009 to change the way the drivers’ championship is awarded, the Teams gathered and unanimously agreed to question the validity of this decision,”

Despite the almost lunacy of the ‘winner takes all’ rule, the opposition by drivers and just about everyone else and the fact that FOTA’s initial proposal of a modified points system ( 12-9-7-5-4-3-2-1 ) based on a global audience survey their only real resource was to check validity of change so close to the start of the 2009 season.

They found themselves successful with this statement:

“The amendment to the sporting regulations proposed by the World Motorsport Council was not performed in accordance with the procedure provided for by Appendix 5 of the Sporting Regulations and, as per the provisions of the article 199 of the FIA International Sporting Code, it is too late for FIA to impose a change for the 2009 season that has not obtained the unanimous agreement of all the competitors properly entered into the 2009 Formula 1 Championship.”

Basically Appendix 5 of the sporting regulations outlines how the F1 regulations can be changed and article 199 states that these changes are not allowed so close to the beginning of the season.

The modified points system first proposed by FOTA is clearly the preferred method of awarding points and the championship found so far, but because it was never approved by the FIA, it too cannot be used this season.

The FIA reacted to FOTA’s findings in another head shaking way by saying that they are willing to defer the ‘winner takes all’, but chose Bernie Ecclestone’s medal type system because they believed the teams liked the idea.

I’m sorry, but where was I when the teams said they liked the idea?

So, after all that huffing and puffing to find a new and better way of awarding points, we are right back to where we were in 2008.

Speaks to the way things work in the FIA doesn’t it. How does this organization manage to turn down a points system that was created through the results of the global audience survey they endorsed to begin with? Not only that, but how does this organization with this much authority not know or at least not consult their own sporting regulations when all of this came about and then paste it backwards on each members forehead so they could read it each time they looked in a mirror.

FOTA hopes to be able to really work with the FIA to come up with a better scoring system for 2010. Good luck.