Autosport wrote:Formula 1 will be better placed to secure its long-term future under the revised structure that is framed within the new Concorde Agreement, claims FIA president Jean Todt. Todt said that he believes an overhaul of the way that F1 is run to make it more democratic will prevent the kind of stalemates - and the ability of a minority of teams to block rule changes - that have held the sport back in the past.
As AUTOSPORT previously revealed, the old structure of Technical and Sporting Working Groups proposing rules through a 70 per cent majority for ratification by a 26-man F1 Commission is being revamped. Instead, a 18-strong 'Strategy Working Group' is being created - which will be made up of six team representatives (Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams and the next best in the constructors'), six FIA representatives and six representatives from Formula One Management. This group will vote on rule changes that will be decided through a simple majority, and these will then be passed on to a trimmed 18-man F1 Commission. The new F1 Commission is made up of the six teams from the Strategy Group, every outfit that has scored a point in the previous championship, plus an FIA representative, an FOM representative, six promoters and an engine manufacturer.
Todt says he expects the new Concorde Agreement to be finalised in a matter of weeks, with all parties having agreed on the principles. Although the Concorde discussions have hit hurdles along the way, Todt said he was adamant that he would only agree to a solution that was good for the sport as a whole.
Jean Todt wrote:For me, it will be much more open to be able to change something. At the moment, with the way it is structured, you can never change anything. The decision will be based on majority and not any more 70 per cent. The new structure will be better able to react to the needs of the sport as a whole. It will be a democratic and balanced organisation, which doesn't exist now. So for the FIA it is a plus.
I will never think that we have only to make sure that we please the FIA. I will not accept that we only please the teams. Or that we only please the commercial rights holder. For me it has to be a balanced element. And I think after quite a few discussions with the commercial rights holder, CVC, with Bernie, speaking with the teams, speaking then globally with everybody, sometimes we have only two parts. So for me it was important to put three parts together, which I did on October 22 in Paris. We agreed on most of the principles and now we have to finalise the written agreement, and hopefully to sign it. For the FIA, it will reinforce its position, but in a balanced way.
This is one of the best pieces of news that I have heard in a very long time. Rule changes for the better have been notoriously difficult in the past with a mojority vote of 70% needed and such a huge commission. The nine point scoring team still have the voting majority in the commission if they stick together and collect only one vote from Todt, Bernie, the promoters or the engine manufacturer. That is pretty much status quo in terms of power balance for the teams. But it replaces the stagnation by simply asking for a 50% majority. Well done Todt! The strategy working group also looks like the right thing to do. I'm looking forward to better and faster decisions.
