Montezemolo downbeat as crisis hits bottom

Luca di Montezemolo and his Ferrari team will likely be out of F1 in 2010 and have nothing to blame but themselves and their fellow FOTA teams

(GMM) While the F1 world holds its breath for the outcome to the political crisis, Luca di Montezemolo's rhetoric has become suddenly resigned.

Friday, when opening practice for the British grand prix will take place, is the new deadline by which the rebel FOTA teams must drop their conditions or be deleted from the FIA's 2010 entry list.

On Tuesday, the FIA said the formula one teams association is unwilling to compromise, accusing it of trying to "take over the regulation" of the sport and trying "to expropriate the commercial rights for itself".

With a solution seeming further away than ever, formula one's stakeholders must take seriously the threat that either the FOTA teams will simply leave the sport, or attempt to set up a rival championship.

Montezemolo, chairman of the teams' alliance and Ferrari president, warned again that his famous Italian team is prepared to quit the sport if the FIA does not give in to its demands.

"We do not know why there is this desire to destroy formula one," he is quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

"In May our board decided what our position would be and this has not changed. It is useless to continue these polemics. Everyone will make their own decisions," Montezemolo added.

Mercedes' Norbert Haug was asked by German journalists on Tuesday to comment on the worsening situation, but replied that FOTA figures have resolved to stay quiet for now.

But he did say: "I hope that in the next days we can report something positive."

Former triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart said he is dismayed that the battle has dragged on in full view of the public for so long.

The Scot told the Telegraph that two "multinational corporations" have pleaded with him to intervene.

"They said, 'you have to tell them, you have to stop this dirty-laundry-in-public business. It's absolutely hideous and none of our clients like it'," said Stewart, 70.

[Editor's Note: This entire issue will go away in the 11th hour. Some say it's just another fabricated controversy aimed at keeping F1 in the news using the F1 media as suckers who fall for it every time. Time will tell.]