Motorsport: More cash for teams

Outgoing FIA president Max Mosley stole a march on the Formula One teams on Sunday when the governing body made the official announcement of the signing of a new Concorde Agreement four days earlier than they had ideally wanted.

The news also put BMW Sauber into a desperate race to complete plans for a Brawn-style buyout before Thursday's deadline.

The tripartite deal finally heralds a period of peace in a sport that has lost many fans through political wrangling.

It was signed by the FIA, Bernie Ecclestone and CVC Capital Partners who are the holders of F1's commercial rights, and the 12 remaining teams following BMW's shock withdrawal last Thursday, and will provide the framework by which the sport will now be run until December 31, 2012.

Under its terms, teams will receive 50 per cent of the revenues from the two main income streams, the alpha group which covers television income and income from fees charged to race promoters, and the beta group which embraces trackside advertising, race sponsorship and hospitality income from the Paddock Club. Previously, they received only 27 per cent.

Just as importantly, the new agreement sees the return of the F1 Commission, comprising team representatives, key sponsors and promoters, the FIA and CVC. This will now be the mechanism by which new regulations are introduced in a more democratic manner. A long-standing point of conflict between the teams and the FIA was the way in which Mosley imposed rules without sufficient discussion.

"Following approval by the World Motor Sport Council, late last night FIA president Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, heralding a renewed period of stability for the FIA Formula 1 world championship," an FIA statement said.

Against this backdrop Peter Sauber, owner of the Sauber team which was acquired by BMW late in 2005, revealed that he and Dr Mario Theissen, BMW's team principal, were working on a rescue package which would enable his old team to stay in the game.

The final decision on whether to sell the team, in which he retained a 20 per cent stake, lies with the BMW board that last week opted to quit the sport.

- INDEPENDENT