Concorde deal is finally signed

Months and even years of debate and argument came to an end when the new Concorde Agreement was signed in August.

Max Mosley had been waiting for the teams to come up with their own ‘resource restriction’ agreement – the politically correct version of a cost cap – before signing on the FIA’s behalf. The plan is to return spending to the levels of the early 1990s, which unofficially the FIA regards as around £50 million per year.

Twelve of the 13 teams entered for 2010 signed the agreement, with BMW Sauber unable to resolve its future in time (see page 13).

The new deal runs until the end of 2012. As per the earlier 1998 agreement, it has ensured a new lease of life in the rule-making process for the F1 Commission, which has in effect been dormant in recent years.