Paralell Universe: GPWC 2010

[ADx_Wales]

Disclaimer: This post is entirely fictional, but in one of those paralell universes where the FIA and FOTA fought over what should be done in F1, its true, Max could no longer deal with the onslaught from the Irate-Eight of Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Brawn, Toyota, BMW, Renault and Toro Rosso.

This is what happened:

After the Hungarian GP the Renault team were banned from the following round due to Fernando Alonso's pit stop where one of his front wheels came loose and bounced along the track, the FIA stated that the ban could not be appealed, Flavio Briatore of Renault saw this as an act of defiance since the forming of a new "concorde agreement" that was not signed by the 8 remaining FOTA representatives, for the European GP at Valencia, the Renault trucks attempted to enter the paddock, but were asked to turn back, riots ensued, some secions of Spanish fans wanting to see Fernando Alonso race at one of his home venues were so furious that they attacked several FIA officials, The race was cancelled.

More meetings and hearings were held in the week leading up to the Belgian GP, Renault were banned for the rest of the season, not just for the Hugarian and Valencian incidents but also reports where Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jnr (who had just been sacked from Renault) told the FIA straight after the Hungarian GP that he was told to crash during the 2008 Singapore GP to aid his team-mate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win that race. Another harsh punishment was handed from the FIA to Renault , All their 2009 driver points would be removed and re-allocated to the finishers behind (8th for Sutil in Melbourne, 8th for Rosberg in Bahrain etc) For Renault and the FOTA teams, this was the final straw.

For the next round at Spa, the 8 FOTA teams would go on strike before the race started, only Williams and Force India took part in the grand prix, it was the biggest farce in F1 since the 2005 race at Indianapolis, Giancarlo Fisichella went on to win the race at spa, it was a hollow victory despite Adrian Sutil also finishing on the podium and Kazuki Nakajima getting points for 4th (and last).

The now without-a-drive Fernando Alonso was hired by Ferrari for the last five rounds of the season, replacing Felipe Massa, who was injured at Hungary during qualifying, Fernando was due to join the Italian team for 2010, this was early training for Fernando who admitted that he wouldnt win in 2009 but would like to get back into the points before the new year. And with the season heading towards Monza it would give the crowd something to smile about despite all the political mayhem that was still hurtling.

Alonso finished 4th on his Ferrari Debut behind his new team-mate Kimi Raikonnen, it was Reubens Barrichello who won, his first since he left Ferrari in 2005, Jenson Button still lead the championship, and as the teams were about to leave Europe for the final 4 rounds, the FOTA teams announced they would leave the F1 world championship for 2010 and form their own championship, and would organise it without Max Mosely of the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone of the FOM, Flavio Briatore would be declared head of the "FOTA Grand Prix World Championship".

The Singapore GP was the most exciting of the season, Hamilton returning to his 2008 form under the floodlights of Marina Bay, but flanked at every corner by Alonso in his new chariot the F60, for the last 20 laps. They shook hands on the podium, a public show of fair play and all is now well since the tense moments as team mates in 2007. In Japan Alonso finished third, another consistent finish making up for the (unfair) loss of championship points. and with two rounds to go, Jenson Button again finished outside the points, putting into question his position in the title race. Interlagos, Brazil. Fernando's first (Lights-to-flag) victory for Ferrari, With Vettel only getting 4th place, and Button finishing 6th, Jenson Button was world champion.

Abu Dhabi, the final round.
Before the race, there was gathering of the 8 Fota teams, Drivers, Mechanics and other staff lined up for with a banner saying "Farewell F1, you were good to us,", Sebastian Vettel won the race, thus cementing his 2nd place in the standings, Brawn would win the constructors title by 9 points from Red Bull.

After the race, via an Online Vlog, Flavio Briatore stated that on December 21st, the 2010 GPWC Race Calendar would be announced. Toro Rosso would merge with Red Bull for the following season, and each team would be allowed to run 3 cars each...

To Be Continued

Disclaimer: Remember, this is fictional, but in a paralell universe this could all be happening right now

[TomWazzleshaw]

oooh me want to hear more
In all seriousness though it's a great read so far

[ADx_Wales]

Disclaimer: meh

At 10pm on Sunday 20th December 2009 FOTA Organiser Flavio Briatore announced the calendar for the inaugural season of the split-off series from F1, Flavio stated that with FOM owning the naming rights to "Grand Prix", the FOTA cheifs went into the archives and plucked for "Intercontinental Formula" which was used in the late 60s for a breif moment in time (which would later become Formula 5000)

The FOTA Intercontinental Formula Cup will run from the 21st of Janruary with a Launch day at Paul Ricard, it was decided that the 7 remaining teams would keep their 2009 cars for the 2010 season with several modifications including a mandatory rear-diffuser, and had to present 3 different aero packages "Low, Medium and High" before the first practice session of the IFC season, with two testing sessions at Paul Ricard and Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit.

There are 12 venues on the calendar, 6 from Europe, 3 in the Americas, 1 on the African continent, 1 in Asia and 1 in Australia. Most startling of all is the inclusion of the Mulsanne Circuit that hosts the Le Mans 24 Hours, and IFC will share the same weekend, it was stated by FOTA Chairman Luca de Montezemolo "Negotiations took place when I was a guest at the 2009 Le Mans event, it was the first one to go down on the 'makeshift' calendar". The other shock is the Inclusion of the San Luis circuit in Argentina which circulates a lake, and was last used globally by the FIA GT championship. There are also several returns to an "F1" calendar for Adelaide, Brasilia, Kyalami and Zandvoort, albeit in their modernised forms.

The Race weekend format has also been announced, drawing on the Sprint-Feature format from another of Flavio's championships, which is being touted as a support season by the time the cars head to the second of the European races in the calendar. The Sprint race being an average of 50 kilometres, and the Feature taking an average of 200km to complete, there will be no pitstops unless they are needed.

FOTA are soon to announce a tyre supply which is more than likely to be Michelin, who are rumoured to supply 3 kinds of tyre per weekend.

The season ends on the streets of Valencia, with a champions awards ceremony from the same city a fortnight later.

The Full calendar:

21st Jan Paul Ricard France LAUNCH DAY
22-24th Jan Paul Ricard France TESTING WEEKEND
12-14th Feb Valencia Ricardo Tormo Spain TESTING WEEKEND

21st Feb Kyalami South Africa Sprint 12 Laps Feature 47 Laps
7th Mar Adelaide Australia S16 F62
21st Mar Dubai Autodrome UAE S9 F37

SEASON BREAK

18th Apr Florida St Petersburg USA S17 F69
2nd May Brasilia Brazil S9 F37
16th May Lago Potrero San Luis Argentina S8 F32

30th May Le Mans Mulsanne France TESTING WEEKEND

13th Jun Le Mans Mulsanne France S4 F15
27th Jun Sachsenring Germany S14 F54
11th Jul Mugello Italy S10 F38

SEASON BREAK

8th Aug Brands Hatch Britain S12 F47
22nd Aug Zandvoort Holland S12 F46
5th Sep Valencia Streets Spain S9 F37

19th Sep Valencia AWARDS CEREMONY

[DemocalypseNow]

You keep the Valencia Street Circuit. Why?

[Klon]

You keep the Valencia Street Circuit. Why?

If that would be the biggest problem of the calendar, it'd be fine...