Bernie Ecclestone terms Formula One Teams’ Association unnecessary – Formula 1 news
Formula 1 Management chief executive officer Bernie Ecclestone has termed Formula One Teams’ Association as an ‘unnecessary’ alliance.
FOTA came into inception in 2008 with the purpose to serve as a platform which the teams could use to project their issues to the Formula 1 authorities, the International Automobile Federation (FIA). Ever since its creation, FOTA has been asking for changes
and amendments, and its demand for a new Concorde Agreement has raised doubts over its usefulness.
In an interview to Formula1.com regarding FOTA, Ecclestone said, “I try not to think of them.”
Ecclestone said that the teams should focus more on their race, rather than wasting their time on activities that will result in no gain for them. Since he is responsible for the funds and resources that are provided to the teams, the latter should only
work towards delivering best cars on the track and not worry about anything else.
Commenting on the usefulness of having FOTA in place, he added, “It is an unnecessary association of people who should put their sole emphasis on getting competitive cars on the grid. It's just more of what they don't have to think of. I look after that
so there are enough financial resources.”
Recently, there was a disagreement amongst the teams when the Formula 1 2012 calendar was announced as the schedule demanded a lot of travelling. 11 out of the 20 races that were scheduled for the season were described as flyaways which required the teams
to travel through continents. The FIA however was not quite pleased with the clamor created by the teams over the 2012 calendar.
The Formula One Teams Association wrote to Ecclestone and the FIA president Jean Todt demanding a relaxation in the schedule. They were of the opinion that the schedule does not follow the Concorde Agreement.
The 80-year-old responded to the teams by saying, “They don't have to go if they don't want to, then they should go to the police … they're lucky we've got races. Otherwise they'd all go out of business.”
Tags: