Maranello, 9th July 2009

Once again the world’s press has been forced to concentrate on politics rather than sport and it gives them no pleasure, devoting the minimum space necessary to the matter. All the main daily papers have written that it had been universally thought that the matter had been closed on 24 June, with everyone publishing the list of the 13 entries entered in the 2010 world championship. The “resumption of hostilities” as L’Equipe titled its piece explained that the agreement had fallen apart, while the Guardian asks itself if “FOTA will seek further meetings with the FIA to discuss the 2010 rules, or if it will now decide to set up its own championship.” Yesterday’s Gazzetta dello Sport had a succinct and factual headline to describe events of yesterday: “FIA kicks FOTA out the door,” while the Daily Mail is very incisive, especially when it comes to the President of the FIA and the representative of the Commercial Rights Holder. A long commentary piece is entitled, “For all our sakes, this gruesome pair can’t be removed from public life quickly enough.” It’s a telling verdict, repeated at the end of the piece with the hope that both these men “partly for the sake of motor racing, but more for the health and happiness of this nation, let’s hope both these awful men soon bow out of public life.”