FIA Cuts FOTA No Quarter: Formula 1 going to court

On this Friday when the Federation Internationale d’Automobile (FIA) was to finalize the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship entry list, they simply turned loose the legal beagles.

In a statement the world governing body said: "The FIA's lawyers have now examined the FOTA [Formula One Team Association] threat to begin a breakaway series. The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including willful interference with contractual relations, direct breaches of Ferrari's legal obligations and a grave violation of competition law. The FIA will be issuing legal proceedings without delay."

So much for meetings and compromise, although the door was left open a crack with this codicil: "...publication of the final 2010 entry list will be put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights." Is Formula 1 headed down that familiar IRL-CART road? That story's been written. All parties need to skip to the last chapter, then consider the consequences.