Williams F1 team has been suspended from FOTA for signing up for the 2010 Formula season. FOTA is an organisation founded by Ferrrari president Luca di Montezemolo that all current F1 teams are part of. FOTA is led by massive corporate personalities Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo and Toyota’s John Howett; the two people that are making all the noises about the rules for 2010. FOTA have proved themselves to be disruptive to the sport instead of enhancing it. I believe the FIA need to take control back and set the rules that best suit the future interests of the sport, not any one team or group of teams. In what other sport can teams or players set the rules that they have to play by? FOTA is making F1 into a laughing stock where the teams make the rules; not the governing body; C’mon Mr. Mosley; show us you have some balls and call the bluff of the teams threatening to quit! If they don’t want to play by the rules; then they can start their own series or enter another series that suits their interests better, I won’t miss all the cry babies like Ferrari, Toyota, Renault, BMW and Red Bull. How can FOTA suspend a team like Williams which represents what F1 was conceived to be; Frank Williams and his Williams team are true racers; they have no other purpose than to race in F1! With the exception of Williams, Brawn and Force India all the other teams have commercial interests outside of Formula 1. Of course Sir Frank was his usual diplomatic self about the suspension; personally I would be telling FOTA to stick their membership up their collective arses; Williams are better off without them! I didn’t even bother to get out of bed to watch the Monaco Grand Prix because of the bullshit off the track and the fact that Brawn are dominating the season. I like Jenson Button and Brawn GP but I don’t enjoy one driver or team dominating; this is no better than when Ferrari and Michael Schumacher dominated in the early 00s, this isn’t racing; it’s parade of very expensive cars!
Furthermore; the six teams threatening to leave F1 will be in breach of the contract they signed back in 2005 pledging to remain in F1 until 2012. The six teams are likely to be sued by commercial rights owner Bernie Ecclestone for breach of contract and rightly so. Ecclestone has already threatened to sue Ferrari if they don’t fulfil their contract by leaving the F1 World Championship before the end of the 2012 season. It is rumoured that Brawn GP, Force India and McLaren are also ready to follow Williams lead and sign up before the Friday deadline. Everyone was expecting McLaren to be be one of the stalwarts defying the deadline but I am willing to bet that the Woking based squad won’t want to rock the boat after their recent indiscretions. So if these three teams sign up before Friday; that’ll leave only six teams left in FOTA as the teams association declared that any team signing up for the 2010 season would be suspended.
In football Liverpool won their final game of the season to cement their position in second behind champions Manchester United. The Anfield based side finished the season four points off United; Liverpool could have easily been champions if it wasn’t for disappointing home draws against teams the Benitez’ men should have beaten. Newly promoted Hull City survived by the skin of their teeth despite losing 1 – 0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Newcastle are the team to drop to the Championship after being beaten by Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. So it looks like Plymouth will be off to a different St. James Park next season, I wish I could be in Plymouth for the time Newcastle visit Home Park; that should be a big game for Argyle.
Now for something that has made me very happy after all the Manchester United fans were banging on about Ferguson’s XI claiming a historic quintuple this season! Barcelona 2 – 0 Manchester United; words really can not express how happy that scoreline makes me. At least Alex Ferguson admitted that Barcelona were the better team; but in reality he couldn’t say anything different if the match reports are correct! Of the quintuple that Manchester United fans have been banging on about; only three trophies actually transpired; the Premiership title, the Club World Cup and the plastic cup that is the Carling Cup. It’s still a good haul but missing out of the two big ones; the FA Cup and the Champions League will hurt the Mancunians!