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Griever20 · 08-22-2017, 09:26 AM

In 2009, Formula One was at a crossroad, and it went the wrong way. Brawn GP and Jenson Button were dominating the Championship as underdogs, interest was high, TV ratings were high, racing was interesting.

Yet, there was a big cloud overhead. Max Mosley, president of the FIA, the governing body of motorsport and Formula One, wanted to press for some serious rule changes for the 2010 Season. Cutting costs in the wake of the financial crisis, a budgetcap of $45M exclusive of driver salary, engines and marketing should be enforced, also helping new teams to join Formula One.

Some teams of the Formula One Team Association(FOTA), namely Red Bull, Toyota, Renault and of course Ferrari, were unwilling to agree to those rules as they were the big budget teams that would see their advantages crumble under those regulations. Registrations and planning for the 2010 season becomes a main problem.

Mosley then threw even more oil into the fire by calling some of the FOTA executives 'looneys' and pointed out FOTA want to take over the sport with Renault team boss Flavio Briatore as the new commercial rights holder.

Through all this mess, three new teams were announced for the 2010 season, including an old friend. Lotus Racing, a malaysian team owned by airline tycoon Tony Fernandez would make his debut in 2010 with technical director and team boss Mike Gascoyne, a veteran of the sport. The new Lotus cars would never drive in anger though.

The political battle for power reached its climax in June 2009... and ended up with no real winner as the FOTA teams, namely Ferrari, BMW-Sauber, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Toyota and Brawn GP-Mercedes decided that to do the unthinkable. They announced to leave Formula One for 2010 and want to form their own racing series, quickly branded the World Constructors Championship(WCC).

By November 1st, Jenson Button and Brawn GP won both World Championships, but Formula One and single seat racing was staring into the abyss. With Force India and Williams the only teams commited to drive in Formula One, together with the new HRT, Virgin Racing and Lotus Racing teams, Formula One was not even close to looking competitive in 2010.

The WCC had the teams, but no commercial rights, no TV contracts, and negotiations with the racetracks turned out to be complicated as the track owners did not want to get in trouble with the big FIA by hosting WCC events.

And so, the 2009 Qatar Grand Prix, won by Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing car, was the last Formula One GP of the old era.

And there would be no new era. The WCC eventually folded as they failed to attract enough TV money for the teams to make it work, let alone a competitive race calendar.

Formula One, facing the truth that they have lost most of the teams that made people watch, also never raced again. The main shareholders of the Formula One Group(FOM), CVC Capital Partners, pulled the plug in February 2011, stating that they do not want this farce to continue and that 'Formula One should go out in style'

Formula One's feeder series, GP2 and GP3, also folded as they had no series to feed their drivers to, and therefore, single seat racing in his fastest form, was dead.

08-22-2017, 09:26 AM	#2
Griever20 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 3,723	The End of Formula One(2009) In 2009, Formula One was at a crossroad, and it went the wrong way. Brawn GP and Jenson Button were dominating the Championship as underdogs, interest was high, TV ratings were high, racing was interesting. Yet, there was a big cloud overhead. Max Mosley, president of the FIA, the governing body of motorsport and Formula One, wanted to press for some serious rule changes for the 2010 Season. Cutting costs in the wake of the financial crisis, a budgetcap of $45M exclusive of driver salary, engines and marketing should be enforced, also helping new teams to join Formula One. Some teams of the Formula One Team Association(FOTA), namely Red Bull, Toyota, Renault and of course Ferrari, were unwilling to agree to those rules as they were the big budget teams that would see their advantages crumble under those regulations. Registrations and planning for the 2010 season becomes a main problem. Mosley then threw even more oil into the fire by calling some of the FOTA executives 'looneys' and pointed out FOTA want to take over the sport with Renault team boss Flavio Briatore as the new commercial rights holder. Through all this mess, three new teams were announced for the 2010 season, including an old friend. Lotus Racing, a malaysian team owned by airline tycoon Tony Fernandez would make his debut in 2010 with technical director and team boss Mike Gascoyne, a veteran of the sport. The new Lotus cars would never drive in anger though. The political battle for power reached its climax in June 2009... and ended up with no real winner as the FOTA teams, namely Ferrari, BMW-Sauber, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Toyota and Brawn GP-Mercedes decided that to do the unthinkable. They announced to leave Formula One for 2010 and want to form their own racing series, quickly branded the World Constructors Championship(WCC). By November 1st, Jenson Button and Brawn GP won both World Championships, but Formula One and single seat racing was staring into the abyss. With Force India and Williams the only teams commited to drive in Formula One, together with the new HRT, Virgin Racing and Lotus Racing teams, Formula One was not even close to looking competitive in 2010. The WCC had the teams, but no commercial rights, no TV contracts, and negotiations with the racetracks turned out to be complicated as the track owners did not want to get in trouble with the big FIA by hosting WCC events. And so, the 2009 Qatar Grand Prix, won by Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing car, was the last Formula One GP of the old era. And there would be no new era. The WCC eventually folded as they failed to attract enough TV money for the teams to make it work, let alone a competitive race calendar. Formula One, facing the truth that they have lost most of the teams that made people watch, also never raced again. The main shareholders of the Formula One Group(FOM), CVC Capital Partners, pulled the plug in February 2011, stating that they do not want this farce to continue and that 'Formula One should go out in style' Formula One's feeder series, GP2 and GP3, also folded as they had no series to feed their drivers to, and therefore, single seat racing in his fastest form, was dead. __________________ The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB? MLB 2015 - Being the Brewmaster(ended) MLB 2013: The Blue Jays That Never Were(concluded)