Ferrari Formula One Row Heats Up

Formula One racing giants, Ferrari, have spectaculary claimed they will quit the sport next season if the FIA successfully impose a budget cap. Renault have also made it clear that they will follow Ferrari, out-the-door, if the FIA get their way. But is it really just toys thrown from fuel-injected prams from Ferrari and Renault or are their threats real? Could Formula One survive without Ferrari? Is this the beginning of the end for the troubled sport?

Undoubtedly, Ferrari’s ‘quit threat’ is real. Many, including myself, thought that Ferrari were just angling for a bargaining spot at the table by announcing they would retire their brand from the sport. However, Piero Ferrari, the Son of Enzo ferrari who started the company, has announced that their conviction to quit F1 is real.

Let’s play Devils Advocate for a moment. Say the FIA sticks to their guns and enforces the budget cap. Ferrari and possibly Renault walk. Where exactly does that leave F1? It most certainly leaves the field a little short, but no doubt others would be willing to replace the two motorsport giants. The level of competition becomes more tighter, the races more interesting (perhaps). But, for many, the absence of the ‘Prancing Horse’ may be a change too far and duly stop supporting the sport.

Petrol heads all over the World are watching this latest battle of power and egos, waiting to see what the outcome will mean for the future of the sport. As is typical of Formula One, it may, in the end, just be nothing more than a large, loud noise.