F1: Mosley Prepared To Listen; Schumacher Enters Budget Cap Debate

SEVEN TIME WORLD CHAMPION Michael Schumacher has become the latest big name to weigh-in on the budget cap row threatening to jeopardise the future of Formula 1.

With the FIA set to announce the 13 participants for next year’s championship on Friday, the sport is facing a proverbial race against time to find a solution and halt the prospect of a breakaway series.

Speaking in an interview on Ferrari’s official website, the German claims the FIA and President Max Mosley should relent to the demands made by the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) and deliver a solution that suits the manufacturers.

"You cannot see F1 without Ferrari or the other manufacturers who have participated for so long. I really believe that somehow they must find a solution – and the solution can only be that it suits those teams that have built up F1 to the state that it is now,” Schumacher said.

"At the end of the day, if you think Ferrari, the name is so important, it is so big in this sport. It became big due to the sport but it actually grew the sport at the same time.”

[caption id="attachment_27352" align="aligncenter" width="555" caption="Schumacher with Brawn GP boss Ross Brawn."][/caption]

While Schumacher acknowledged the need for teams to cut costs in the midst of an economic crisis, he said the FIA’s demands are unreasonable.

"It is not a very exciting situation that we are facing - especially the sport that I have participated most of my life in and that I really love. To see what is going on there, it is not very great,” he said.

"You cannot expect drastic changes to be accepted by such important manufacturers. Yes, you have a target, yes, you want to reduce costs, but you have to do it step by step, you cannot turn the world around in one day – that is impossible."

Schumacher’s comments arrive after Reuters reported that Mosley encouraged FOTA members to submit an unconditional entry by Friday, promising to engage the disenfranchised outfits in discussions regarding the future of the sport.

Mosley said the FIA is unable to hastily amend the regulations before the end of the week and that any proposed changes to the rules would require the approval of all participants officially entered into the 2010 championship.

"Once we have a list of confirmed entries, we can make changes - provided we have the necessary unanimous agreement. You therefore have the option of participating in this process as a confirmed entrant, or not,” he said in a letter addressed to the teams.

"It is of course up to you, but the simplest way to ensure that all entrants run under the same rules would be if everyone entered under the cost-cap rules as published and then all entrants co-operated to agree modifications to those rules which would make the proposition workable for all parties.

"We have already canvassed the views of some of the likely new entrants regarding the proposed measures and the feedback is broadly positive, so a solution should be relatively simple to achieve."