FOTA facing challenge to maintain unity

FOTA had hailed an unprecedented unity between the teams when discussing and agreeing cost-cutting measures earlier this year.

However, the relationship between teams has become more strained after leading squads protested the design of the rear diffusers used by Brawn, Toyota and Williams.

Although the design has been ruled legal by the FIA, some teams remain unhappy with the situation and Renault boss Flavio Briatore has been open in his criticism of Brawn.

The row escalated further during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, with Briatore saying Brawn should not be entitled to television rights' money and that he would make an official proposal to FOTA to prevent the team from receiving the payment.

Given the current situation, leading F1 figures believe it will be hard to keep the FOTA unity.

"I think it is unquestionably a challenge," said Williams CEO Adam Parr. "When you have got common interests, it is relatively easy to work together.

"Now, we did more than that because there were differences of opinion and differences of interest over the winter which Luca di Montezemolo as chairman of FOTA, with the help of Ron Dennis in particular and John Howett, pulled everyone together.

"I think that is harder now, simply because the reality of what we do is that the stuff on the track is so fundamental and so important that it is very difficult to think about the longer term bigger picture while you are fighting it out there. So, I am hoping that we will now pick ourselves up and gradually pull back together again.

"I have to say, that is going to be difficult while individual teams feel tremendously under pressure. But if FOTA is to be a long-lasting institution, it cannot be based about people feeling good about how they are going on the track. Because not everybody is going to feel good."

Parr reckons teams must leave the diffuser row behind them and go to the next FOTA meeting without any hidden agendas if they are to continue making progress.

"I think when we next get together, it has to be on the basis that what has happened has happened and we are moving on," he added.

"One of the things that I feel quite strongly about is that it is going to be very soon that all of the teams have adopted the diffuser designs, and then the competitive order will change unless teams like Williams are able to really push on with development.

"So the situation is going to change very quickly and I hope we can maintain the bigger picture."

BMW motorsport boss Mario Theissen agreed that the row will put FOTA to the test.

"It doesn't make it easier, definitely," Theissen said. "So far we have successfully kept apart the work on the future direction of the sport and on the other hand the operational daily business at the race track. This is definitely a test to FOTA."

Red Bull team principal Christan Horner echoed Theissen's thoughts, and he believes FOTA issues should not be discussed in public.

"I think it needs to be discussed within FOTA, it isn't healthy for the teams to be in this predicament but we need to look inwardly and discuss it. It will certainly be a test," said Horner.

Toyota team president John Howett, however, is adamant that the row should not affect FOTA's unity, as the teams' body should focus on bigger problems.

"I don't think it should be because I think the issues are entirely different," Howett told AUTOSPORT.

"There are a number of potentially major issues facing F1 and that is the area that FOTA has been established to interface with, both the federation and the commercial rights holder, and I don't personally feel there should be any issues as a consequence of that."