Teams Agree to Work with GPWC Series (Updated)

Formula One team bosses have agreed to work with leading carmakers on plans for a new Grand Prix championship from 2008, the GPWC organisers said today.

The board of directors of Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC), a company created by the manufacturers to pave the way for their own series, presented their plans to the 10 team bosses in Munich. The carmakers are Ford, BMW, Mercedes-parent DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari-owners Fiat and Renault.

The GPWC said in a statement that the meeting represented a key step for both GPWC and the Formula One teams towards the realisation of common goals. The series is intended to take over from Formula One when the current "Concorde Agreement" between teams, commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone and the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) expires in 2007.

"The meeting's agenda included a discussion on the future framework for the sport with a unanimous view to promote its long-term stability," the GPWC statement said.

"The meeting resulted in all participants signing a memorandum of understanding and agreeing to work together to complete the Organisation Agreement on key features of the commercial and sporting structure of GPWC. GPWC believes these objectives are in the best interest of the teams and in the best interest of the sport."

GPWC said they would meet FIA president Max Mosley, whose body would be expected to sanction the GPWC series, and Ecclestone to update them on details of the meeting.

Details Lacking

No details were given in the statement and none of the principals was immediately available for comment.

But McLaren boss Ron Dennis, whose team are in partnership with Mercedes, said last weekend that he was expecting a "complete and comprehensive proposal".

"I don't think there are any bad surprises. I think the document has only got better over time. There is no desire for any of the teams to go in a different direction," he said.

Renault vice-president Patrick Faure told Britain's Guardian newspaper this week that a new era in Formula One history was opening up.

"There has been the first era of Formula One, now there will be another. We are happy to keep Bernie (Ecclestone) as CEO, but the majority of the money generated by Formula One has to go to the teams," he said.

"Everything else is negotiable. But on this we will not compromise. We need this sport to be paid for by the revenues it generates."

The distribution of Formula One's considerable revenues has long been a source of grievance to teams, who want a far greater share than at present. Two teams - Prost and Arrows - have disappeared since the start of 2002 and half of those that remain are looking for alternative sources of revenue to the tobacco companies that have hitherto paid the bills.

Dennis has put the share currently received by the teams at just 23 percent of the total revenues. Renault have their own team while Ford own Jaguar and provide engines to Jordan and Minardi. BMW are Williams' engine partners.

Of the remaining Formula One contenders Toyota, who are not on the board of GPWC, own their own team while Honda are partners to BAR. Ferrari provide Sauber with engines. Formula One's commercial rights are currently controlled by banks after the failure last year of Germany's Kirch media group, who held a 75 percent stake. The remainder of holding company SLEC is owned by Ecclestone's family trust.

The carmakers have also been talking to the banks about taking a stake in SLEC while Ecclestone has said his trust could be interested in buying back the rights if all the teams extended the Concorde Agreement to 2015.