The FIA have selected the six teams that will sit on the Formula One commission from 2008. They are Red Bull, Renault, BMW, Ferrari, Honda and Williams.
The Formula One commission has the power to approve or reject suggestions from the two working groups that create technical and sporting regulations, and pass them on to the World Motor Sports Council for final ratification.
Crucially, the teams on the F1 commission account for just six of the 13 total votes, the remaining seven belonging one each to FIA and Formula One Management, and five to different race promoters. As these seven can be expected to be aligned to Mosley, plus Ferrari and their Red Bull allies from the six teams, it is virtually guaranteed that any legislation that passes will have to have Mosley’s approval.
The six teams have been selected supposedly to represent nations. However, with appointments being made on a ‘one per nation’ basis, no room could be found for both Williams and McLaren and so the latter were squeezed out.
This has understandably angered Ron Dennis, who pointed out that McLaren are the second oldest team in the sport and have scored the best results of any teams in the 40 years they have been active – including Ferrari – and deserve a say in any discussion about the future of the sport.
This is a careful move by Mosley to isolate Dennis, his most vocal critic. As Renault, BMW, Williams and Honda all have seats at the table they are unlikely to lend support to Dennis, but nor do they have much chance of finding sufficient allies against Mosley on the commission to leverage any of the GPMA demands.
Game, set and match to Mosley.
Tags: f1 / formula one / grand prix / motor sport / fia / max mosley / mclaren
