Formula One news

Howett clarifies legality of FOTA deal

John Howett has assured that FOTA is operating within the bounds of the law after an agreement signed by Formula One's five car manufacturers could, reportedly, lead to legal action being taken against the group. The deal, signed on the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix, is believed to state that any marque which submits an unconditional 2010 entry would pay others as an effective form of compensation.

With all FOTA teams having put forward only conditional entries to the FIA, the situation involves all current teams apart from Williams and Force India not entering the championship for next year unless the FIA's €45m budget cap plan is removed. It is believed, however, that F1's five car manufactures - BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Toyota - signed an agreement in Monte-Carlo, stating that any party which submitted a full and unconditional entry for next season without the approval of the others would pay fellow group members the sum of €50m each.

The document is believed to have been signed during FOTA's Monte-Carlo meetings

It is believed, however, that - on seeing the document - the FIA states that such an agreement may violate the EU competition law or the Enterprises Act of 2002 in the United Kingdom. "I'm not really prepared to discuss any of the detail at all," Toyota's John Howett, vice chairman for FOTA, told Autosport. "It's a genuine agreement between the manufacturers on entering a sporting competition. It's about entry, not boycotting, and doesn't cover any commercial issues - I think it's a genuine and totally legal and uncontroversial document.

"I have to say that it's been checked by the lawyers of the teams and by the lawyers of the manufacturers, who are dealing on a daily business with EU competition legislation on anti-trust. I have also been advised that the EU competition department was consulted by one party, so I'm fairly sure that there is no issue.

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