FIA ‘not surprised’ by BMW's exit

The FIA has said it is not surprised by BMW’s decision to quit Formula 1 and blamed team principals for resisting cost-cutting measures that might have prevented its withdrawal.

The German carmaker announced on Wednesday morning that it would pull out of F1 at the end of the season due to a combination of a disappointing 2009 campaign and a change in its strategic priorities.

But the FIA seized on the news as evidence that it had been right to warn persistently about F1’s need to adapt to the new era of austerity ushered in by the global recession.

“The FIA regrets the announcement of BMW’s intended withdrawal from Formula 1 but is not surprised by it,” the governing body said in a statement.

“It has been clear for some time that motorsport cannot ignore the world economic crisis.

“Car manufacturers cannot be expected to continue to pour large sums of money into Formula 1 when their survival depends on redundancies, plant closures and the support of the taxpayer.

“This is why the FIA prepared regulations to reduce costs drastically.”

The governing body had pushed for the adoption of a £40m annual budget cap in 2010 before it was forced to back down by the Formula One Teams’ Association, with the deal agreed in Paris last month instead committing teams to scaling back budgets to early 1990s levels through self-policed measures.

The FIA suggested BMW might have been happier with the return on its investment in F1 had the more drastic spending curbs it proposed not been torpedoed by team principals.

It also hinted that it expects one or more other manufacturers to follow suit, referring to “further such announcements in the future” – although it hoped that enough had been done to prevent an exodus.

“These measures were needed to alleviate the pressure on manufacturers following Honda's withdrawal but also to make it possible for new teams to enter,” the FIA said.

“Had these regulations not been so strongly opposed by a number of team principals, the withdrawal of BMW and further such announcements in the future might have been avoided.

“Nevertheless, as a result of a sustained cost-cutting campaign by the FIA, new measures are in the process of being agreed which should make it easier for new teams to enter and enable existing ones to participate on much reduced budgets.

“It is no secret that these measures do not go as far as the FIA would have liked but a compromise was needed in the interests of harmony in the sport.

“Hopefully it will be enough to prevent further withdrawals and provide a solid foundation for Formula 1.

“As the guardian of the sport, the FIA is committed to ensuring that Formula 1 remains financially sustainable for all competing teams and it will always act to ensure that this remains the case.”