Ferrari have failed in their bid to obtain an injunction against the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and their decision to introduce a budget cap into Formula One from next season.
Following a one-hour hearing at the Tribunal de Grande Justice in Paris, judges sided with FIA president Max Mosley’s organization, the British Press Association reported Wednesday. Judge Jacques Gondran de Robert ruled that Ferrari had failed to use a veto against the new rules at meetings of FIA World Motor Sport Council in March and April when the matter was discussed, Agence France-Presse said. Motor sport’s world governing body had imposed a $60 million figure, but there has been widespread opposition from the teams driven by fears it would make the sport a two-tier championship. Ferrari are among the teams who have threatened to withdraw from Formula One at the end of this season unless fundamental revisions are made to the new regulations. At the moment teams such as Ferrari and McLaren operate on annual budgets of $200 million to $300 million. Teams might decide not to stick with the budget cap, but those that do will get technical freedom.
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Mosley and F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone attended a gathering with team bosses at a Heathrow hotel in London on Friday to discuss the crisis.
“During the meeting it became apparent that Ferrari have made an application to the French courts to apply for an injunction to stop us doing what we want to do,” Mosley told waiting media after that meeting. “At the end of the meeting no solution was agreed, with teams leaving to discuss alternatives. It was a friendly meeting but the teams have gone off to see if they can come up with something better than the cost cap.”
