Ferrari says it cannot be entered by FIA

[John S]

Things are hotting up ahead of the announcement of successful entries.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali insists the FIA cannot include his outfit on the entry list for 2010 when it is published on Friday, unless the governing body has agreed to demands laid down by the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA).

With less than 48 hours to go until motor racing's governing body publishes the list of teams entered for the 2010 championship, there has been mounting speculation that Ferrari could controversially be part of the gang that is deemed to have an automatic entry.

This is because the team had made commitments with the FIA and Formula One Management several years ago about guaranteeing its presence in F1, in return for favourable commercial terms and a veto on technical regulations.

Domenicali joined a FOTA meeting in London on Wednesday to discuss the matter, as the teams' body prepared itself for Friday's announcement. Afterwards, Ferrari issued a statement saying that it could only be part of the entry list if the conditions it laid down on May 29 were met.

"Ferrari's position has not changed," Domenicali said. "Back on 29 May, we put in a conditional entry with the other teams that make up FOTA. Along with this entry, we put forward to the FIA a package of proposals which included among other elements, a significant reduction in costs.

"As always, we will do all we can to find a solution that is acceptable to all parties. If this is not possible, then the FIA will not be able to include Ferrari in the list of teams entered for the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship."

The agreement at the centre of the latest argument was deemed valid by a French court last month, when Ferrari sought an injunction over the 2010 regulations being introduced. The courts ruled that only the time frame for sorting the matter out prevented Ferrari being given the opportunity to overturn the 2010 rules.

However, Ferrari insists now that the terms of the contract it had in place are no longer valid.

Speaking in an FIA press conference in Turkey last weekend, Domenicali said: "We had an agreement with the FIA but we felt that the obligations inside that agreement were breached, so the agreement is not valid anymore."

By Jonathan Noble, Today autosport.com

[Scott]

I think there would have to be a signature or two along with the entrace fee from Ferrari before anything was official - previous agreements or not.  Max is just posing if he puts Ferrari on the entry list without their permission.