Declan Quigley

FIA and teams will get together in the end

As the announcement of the 2010 F1 entry list approached it appeared as if the FIA and the FOTA squads were inching towards an inevitable rapprochement and the doomsayers who were predicting an apocalyptic, IndyCar-style split seemed to have jumped the gun again.

These guys always get together in the end. They need each other...

One awaits with suitably bated breath the announcement of the extra three teams that have won the franchise to take part in F1 next season and reflect that the whole process has probably been the FIA’s most successful marketing campaign ever.

In the midst of a global financial crisis, Max Mosley and cohorts have convinced at least eleven, and probably more, groups to make concerted bids to get involved in a sporting series with slightly contracting revenues and apparent political instability.

Not only that, the two carrots for their applications are almost certainly going to be removed by the time the winning candidates have stepped up to claim their prize, i.e. the €45 million budget cap and the promise of significant technical advantages for the budget cap squads.

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Political warfare in F1

13 May 2009

Another week, another escalation in the political warfare about which Formula One Racing is ostensibly the focus.

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The refuelling ban is the biggest news

01 May 2009

Of all the decisions announced following the FIA World Motor Sports Council meeting this week, the most contentious in the long term is likely to be one that attracted some of the least publicity on Wednesday morning.

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Could Hamilton leave McLaren?

08 April 2009

Late last week I was asked in an interview on Setanta Sports News if I thought the latest McLaren controversy would hasten Lewis Hamilton's departure from the team that spawned and nurtured his career.

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Another great season opener

01 April 2009

Ah, if only I’d popped in to Paddy Power last Christmas with a bet on Jenson Button to win in Australia. The relentless, seeping rheum that is this infernal recession could be staved off at least for a little while longer.

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All eyes on Hamilton

31 October 2008

I’m very much looking forward to the end of the season. It’s been a really dramatic season, with so many twists and turns, so we just don’t know what’s going to happen this weekend.

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