Ferrari to prance into the distance?

Guest writier Tom Mcloughlin gives his take on the current saga over the 2010 regulations and Ferrari.

So what's all this fuss about Ferrari saying their goodbyes?

Despite the great Enzo's son, Piero, insisting today that their threat to leave F1 is serious, it is hard to imagine the team realistically giving up their mantle as the sport's most treasured sons. It was always clear that the FIA's decision to bring in the budget cap would ruffle some of the big spender's feathers, though whether they expected such a fearsome revolt is hard to say. At the end of the day, it's inconceivable that Ferrari would be prepared to hand over all the Formula history they have created, and the ardent following they have in the tifosi, for the trivial matter of a few lira. Isn't it?

Ferrari insist not. Mr Ferrari used a football analogy to drive his point home, saying it's like making Internazionale, who spend lots of money on big players, play with only 9 men when they face smaller, poorer clubs such as Catania. Why should they be handicapped just because they have more funding at their disposal? A fair point. But F1 is F1, it's not football, and Bernie likes a good show. It hasn't been a level playing field for a long time (think back to when the regulations were constantly changed to help the pack catch up with Schumi) and to expect anything different now would be naive.

So the FIA and Ferrari have reached a face off, and it'll be interesting to see who backs down first. The FIA's case hasn't been helped by the other manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon, but I thought there was a more telling indication of the uphill battle they are facing following Ferrari's announcement. Shortly after Mr Mosley suggested that F1 can easily survive without Ferrari, I read a barrage of quotes from key F1 figures saying that it definitely couldn't, and that Ferrari were an imperative piece in the F1 jigsaw. These people included Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who no doubt have half an eye on who may be employing them in 2010 and beyond.

In my opinion, and the opinion of the many articles I have read on the topic, this whole show is simply Ferrari giving themselves some leverage to move the regulations back in their favour. They have too much riding on their F1 involvement to throw it all away because there is the potential of a short period without success. They have experienced not being at the front in the past, and whilst I'm sure they're keen not to return there, the intelligence in the team will realise that they won't remain there for long. They have too much quality behind the scenes for that to happen, no matter how much (or little) they spend.

So it's decided then, the Prancing Horse will remain. The only question is, how far will the FIA back down to ensure this happens?