Team pact under threat

An argument over the Resource Restriction Agreement is threatening the future of FOTA, the F1 teams’ organisation.

Some teams are convinced that Red Bull Racing is spending more than it is supposed to, with the matter being complicated by the independence of its design facility, Red Bull Technology.

After a meeting at the Korean GP Christian Horner indicated that the issue had become so critical that the existence of the organisation was under question.

“FOTA has reached a crossroads where it needs to deal with some of the key issues, or we’ll stop, it’s as simple as that,” said the Red Bull team boss. “The principal issues are obviously the Concorde Agreement, what direction that goes in, and fundamentally the RRA. And if we can’t find agreement on that, then what is the purpose of FOTA?”

Asked if a collapse was really possible he added: “I think if a solution isn’t found, and a direction that the teams want to go in, then yes. I’d be wrong to comment on the content of the meeting, but those are the fundamental issues that need to be tackled.”

Horner continued, “Obviously the resource agreement is something that’s under discussion for the future, and it needs to be addressed to take away some of the paranoia that currently does exist.”