GPWC: the future, today

Ecclestone, who has signed Ferrari to a long-term agreement to stay with his FIA-mandated series, maintains the commercial rights for F1 through a holding company, SLEC, the ownership of which is split 75% by a group of banks, which has recently taken him to court over control of the company, and 25% by Ecclestone's family trust.

The GPWC, now owned solely by Renault, BMW and DaimlerChrysler following Ferrari's decision to sign with Ecclestone, wants a greater share of the massive revenues generated by F1, as well as greater transparency in the running of the sport. Reports state that the teams currently share only 27% of revenues, although Ecclestone has recently offered the teams 50% to re-sign the Concorde Agreement, which expires at the end of 2007, until 2012.

The GPWC has not responded to these numbers, but are insisting that they offer a true alternative to the status quo. Changes to the current regulations have upset Honda and Toyota, with the Japanese manufacturers issuing a joint statement recently supporting the aims of the GPWC.

With 5 of the remaining 9 unsigned teams owned or strongly supported by manufacturers it is assumed that the meeting will be pitched strongly at the remaining 4 privateers, two of whom have recently been bought by businessmen moving into F1 to promote their companies.

The meeting will be the first major presentation by the GPWC to the teams. With the future of the sport at stake, as well as a reported $3 billion in revenues over the next 5 years, there is bound to be a lot to discuss.