The battle over the future of Formula 1 begins again

The group of rebel teams meets again this week, as the battle over the budget cap is set to continue. After the meeting with Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone last Friday in London, the members of FOTA agreed to sit at the table on Tuesday in Monaco, on the occasion of the famous Principality Grand Prix.

The objective of the meeting will be to find alternative solutions to the budget ceiling imposed by FIA president Mosley: such as reducing the use of the wind tunnel and freezing the low-cost offer for the supply of engines to customers, at least according to The Guardian newspaper.

It is believed that Mosley will meet the teams in Monaco at the earliest on Friday - a week before the 2010 World Cup entry deadline - to finalize his proposals. Alternatively, Mosley could make changes to the 40 million ceiling, not including engines, drivers, motorhomes and promotion costs. “We also have the opportunity to exclude other expenditure items,” said the Briton.

While the teams meet in Monaco on Tuesday, a press release from Ferrari confirmed that the appeal lodged will be heard at the same time by the French Court of Appeal. It reads: “We are pleased to know that Mr. Ecclestone and Mr. Mosley are so optimistic that we will be in F1 next year. But we would prefer them to be more realistic."

Marco Privitera