The FISA–FOCA war was a political battle contested throughout the early 1980s by two now-defunct representative organizations in
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor racing, the
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) and the
Formula One Constructors Association
The Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) was an organization of the chassis builders (constructors) who design and build the cars that race in the FIA Formula One World Championship. It evolved from the earlier ''Formula 1 Constructors ...
(FOCA). The battle boiled during the late 1970s and early 1980s and came to a head when the racing teams affiliated with FOCA, an equivalent to a racing team
union, boycotted the
1982 San Marino Grand Prix.
Introduction
The battle for control of Formula One was contested between the
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), at the time an autonomous subcommittee of the
FIA, and the
Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA).
The key figures involved were
Jean-Marie Balestre, the FISA president at the time,
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...
, who led FOCA and owned the
Brabham
Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
Formula One team, and
Max Mosley, who later became the president of the FIA but then served as a legal advisor to both Ecclestone's Brabham team and FOCA in general.
The beginnings of the dispute are numerous, and many of the underlying reasons may be lost in history. The teams (except
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
and the other major manufacturers –
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
and
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...
in particular) were of the opinion that their rights and ability to compete against the larger and better funded teams were being negatively affected by a perceived bias on the part of FISA, the controlling organisation, toward the major manufacturers.
In addition, the battle revolved around the commercial aspects of the sport (the FOCA teams were unhappy with the disbursement of proceeds from the races) and the technical regulations which, in FOCA's opinion, tended to be malleable according to the nature of the transgressor more than the nature of the transgression.
The battles raged throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, the first major confrontation being at the
1980 Spanish Grand Prix. In the buildup to the race, FISA fined the majority of the FOCA team drivers who had not appeared at the drivers' briefings at the Belgian and Monaco races and unless the fines were paid, the drivers at fault would have their racing licences revoked by the governing body. After a lengthy debate between the teams, the drivers, FOCA and FISA, the race went ahead at the insistence of
King Juan Carlos without FISA's sanctioning or the support of the factory teams. The race, won by eventual World Champion
Alan Jones in a
Williams-
Ford, was therefore run as a non-championship event.
A notable point of the dispute was the formation of a short lived "World Federation of Motorsport" in November 1980. This new, rival federation published a rule book and a calendar for a rival championship under the title "World Professional Drivers Championship".
Proposed World Professional Drivers Championship 1981 Events
# South African GP
# Long Beach GP
# Brazilian GP
# New York GP
# Italian GP
# Monaco GP
# Spanish GP
# Belgian GP
# French GP
# Swedish GP
# British GP
# German GP
# Austrian GP
# Dutch GP
# Canadian GP
# Watkins Glen GP
# Mexican GP
# Las Vegas GP
The FOCA teams staged
a Formula One race under the WFMS banner in South Africa in February , won by
Carlos Reutemann in a Williams-Ford. However, the lack of major factory team attendance, the resulting poor fan support and limited media coverage meant that the viability of the rival series was compromised immediately. A grudging settlement was reached thereafter which allowed the FOCA teams to return to the "FISA" world championship in time for the first race in March.
Things came to a head just before the beginning of the 1982 season. FISA had introduced a clause into the drivers' super licences, stipulating that they must drive for the team they were currently contracted to and no others. The
Grand Prix Drivers' Association led by
Didier Pironi
Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver and offshore powerboat racing, offshore powerboat racer, who competed in Formula One from to . Pironi was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Cham ...
and
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
organised a 'drivers' strike' at the
1982 South African Grand Prix in protest, with the majority of the drivers in support (Italian driver
Teo Fabi was the only one not to participate in the strike). After lengthy debates and negotiation between the GPDA, FISA and FOCA the dispute was settled in favour of the drivers, and the clause was dropped.
The war culminated in a FOCA boycott of the
1982 San Marino Grand Prix three months later. In theory, all the FOCA-aligned teams were supposed to boycott the Grand Prix as a sign of solidarity and complaint at the handling of the
regulations
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
and financial compensation. In practice, four of the teams –
Tyrrell,
Osella,
ATS and
Toleman – backed out of the boycott, citing "sponsor obligations". Nonetheless, there were only 14 cars in the race – the six cars from the FISA-aligned Ferrari, Renault and Alfa Romeo teams, and the eight cars from the four FOCA teams that had broken the boycott. The hard feelings and repercussions of the four FOCA teams' participation in the race would continue into the mid-1980s.
Boycott and water-cooled brakes
The
FOCA team bosses claimed that their boycott of the
1982 San Marino Grand Prix was in response to the disqualification of
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...
's
Brabham
Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
and
Keke Rosberg's
Williams from the
1982 Brazilian Grand Prix.
This disqualification was a response to the FOCA teams' attempts to overcome their cars' power deficit to the other (mainly manufacturer backed or owned) teams'
turbocharged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...
engines.
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
had introduced turbocharged engines to
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
in . Initially the turbocharged cars had been heavy, unreliable, and difficult to drive, meaning the
Ford-Cosworth DFVs used by the majority of the Formula One teams (with
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
's
Flat 12 engine the notable exception) were still dominant. However, by turbo engines were becoming faster, more reliable and easier to drive. By this time, Ferrari and later Alfa Romeo () joined Renault in the turbo camp, while even Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team began using turbocharged
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
engines in 1982. The FOCA teams stuck with the DFV, but even the latest versions of the engine (which had been introduced in ) showed their age and were significantly down on power relative to the newest turbo engines. In order to keep pace with the turbo cars, FOCA team bosses began to look for loopholes in the regulations.
Before the Brazilian race, the FOCA teams found a loophole in the weighing procedure used at the races. The rules stated a car would be weighed with all coolants and lubricants on board, and said nothing about whether those coolants and lubricants needed to be in the car when the race finished. The FOCA teams claimed this meant that all coolants and lubricants could be 'topped up' after the race. This practice was illegal in all other forms of FIA racing, but was not explicitly banned in Formula One.
With this in mind, the FOCA teams showed up at the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix with "water-cooled brakes". The cars were also fitted with large water tanks, which the teams claimed were to hold the water needed to cool the brakes. In reality, the water in the tanks wasn't used for cooling the brakes at all, but was instead sprayed out of the car in the early laps of the race. This resulted in the cars running most of the race significantly under the mandated minimum weight limit. However, after the race (or on occasion during a late race
pit stop
Pitstop may refer to:
* Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished
* ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill
* ''Pit Stop'' (2013 film), a movie directe ...
) the teams refilled the tanks before the cars were weighed. Since the cars were supposed to be weighed with all coolants and lubricants on board, and the water was supposed to be a coolant, this was not a violation of the letter of the rules of Formula One.
In the Brazilian Grand Prix of 1982, the Brabham-Ford/Cosworth of Nelson Piquet and the Williams-Ford/Cosworth of Keke Rosberg finished first and second respectively, with the turbocharged Renault of
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and� ...
finishing third (without the water-cooled brakes). Renault immediately protested the top two cars, and Piquet and Rosberg were disqualified for finishing the race underweight. The FISA teams accused the FOCA teams of intentionally mis-interpreting the rule in question, while the FOCA teams claimed since 'topping up' the tanks wasn't specifically illegal, it had to be legal. Brabham and Williams appealed the disqualification of their cars.
As per normal procedure, there was a delay before the
FIA Court of Appeals heard the appeal on the disqualifications. This meant another Grand Prix (the
United States Grand Prix West) was run before the appeals were heard, and Ferrari (who was aligned with FISA) took the opportunity to show where things would lead if teams were allowed to exploit loopholes in the regulations. Both
Ferrari 126C2s showed up at the race with two rear wings. The wings were side by side, with one slightly in front of the other. Both wings were the legal size, but the effect was the same as running one rear wing that was double the legal width. Ferrari claimed this setup was legal, as there was no rule stating teams could only run one rear wing, so running multiple rear wings had to be legal. The FIA disagreed, and disqualified
Gilles Villeneuve after he finished 3rd in a Ferrari.
Whether this episode influenced the FIA Court of Appeals or not is unknown, but either way the appeals from Williams and Brabham were rejected, and the disqualifications stood. Ironically, the rest of the FOCA teams' cars in the Brazilian Grand Prix (some of which had scored points) were not disqualified despite the fact they ran the same water-cooled brakes system. The reason was simple: Renault had only protested the cars which had finished ''in front'' of their driver (Prost). None of the other cars using the system had been protested, meaning they were allowed to keep their points.
Rules and breaches
During this period, the Formula One rules specified that any car must weigh at least 585 kg to be deemed in compliance with the rules. The method of testing was somewhat haphazard – teams would be notified that they would be "weight checked" when they exited the pits during practice or qualifying. This gave the teams ample opportunity to add weight to their cars while in the pits so as to pass the test. Former Formula One driver
Eddie Cheever claimed that during
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
, when his
Tyrrell was tagged for a weight check in qualifying, the team took off the "racing" rear wing (a fiberglass/metal hybrid) and replaced it with a "weight check" rear wing before allowing him to proceed to the scale. Cheever said it took four of them to lift the "weight check" rear wing and the car was largely undriveable with it installed. He believed that the weight check rear wing was made mostly of lead.
Similarly, after the limiting of
ground effect technology in Formula One at the end of
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
the
Brabham
Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
team devised a system to circumvent the minimum ride height regulation of 6 centimetres. The FISA had implemented this rule in order to make it relatively easy to eliminate ground effect skirts and underwings, both of which required that the bodywork of the car be very close to the racing surface at all times. The Brabham team at the time was headed by
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...
, with legal representation by
Max Mosley, and its chief mechanic was
Charlie Whiting – all of whom became senior FIA staffers. The team's designer
Gordon Murray produced a
hydropneumatic suspension system for the
Brabham BT49C, in which compressed air acted as the spring. The air springs supported the car at the regulation height for checks while stationary in
parc fermé. At speed, where the ride height could not be measured, downforce compressed the suspension and the car settled to a much lower ride height, creating more downforce. It returned to its original height when the car slowed down to enter the pits. Murray believes the system to have been legal on the basis that all suspension systems compress under download. The loophole was in the degree of compression permitted, which was not specified under the rules.
[Henry (1985) pp.223–225]
Concorde Agreement
Some elements of the dispute were resolved by the
Concorde Agreement to which both parties agreed at the beginning of
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
. The regulatory body (FISA, which was an autonomous satellite body created by the FIA to oversee international motorsport) agreed to a more equal distribution of funds, to arbitration provisions, and to a timetable for technical regulation changes, amongst other things.
The teams agreed to appear for every race in the world championship (which had not been the case previously, as to save money, often teams did not enter "fly away" races, ''i.e.'' South American, Antipodean, or North American events) under financial penalty. Furthermore, they agreed to abide by the rulings of the arbitration provisions of the agreement. The FOCA teams also agreed to share travel expenses equally amongst all teams who score world championship points in a given season.
The initial Concorde Agreement went into effect in 1981 and lasted until
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
. While the Concorde Agreement has been both extended and substantially modified since then, the ten teams contesting the Formula One World Championship in are still covered under its provisions.
Repercussions
The fallout from the FISA–FOCA war is significant and worthy of mention.
Firstly, the Concorde Agreement hastened the commercial development of the sport. The fact that promoters could guarantee that "all 26" cars (as was the custom) would appear at every race led to increased sponsorships and commercial opportunities. This, in turn, led to a significant increase in financial remuneration to each of the teams (including the non-FOCA teams – the manufacturers).
Secondly, those teams who had backed out of the
1982 San Marino boycott were harshly dealt with. The
Tyrrell team was the last team to obtain a turbocharged engine contract (essential in order to be competitive in Formula One from 1983 onward), finally signing a deal to run "customer"
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
turbos in the latter part of 1985 (roughly three years before turbo engines were ultimately banned), having involved in
a controversy in the team's final full year without turbo engines (prior to the ban) for using an illegal weight ballast. Toleman was effectively squeezed out of the Formula One world championship in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
when their tyre supplier pulled out of Formula One. In both cases, it must be said, the teams had previously blotted their copybook with inappropriate acts. In Tyrrell's case, they had backed out of a
1974 contract to run Renault turbo engines, leading directly to the carmaker's entry into Formula One as a factory team in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
, while in
Toleman's case, they broke a
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational tyre manufacturer based in the city of Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Borsa Italiana since 1922, is the 5th-largest tyre manufacturer, and is focused on the consumer pro ...
tyre contract in favour of
Michelin
Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
tyres in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, only to be left without a contract when Michelin withdrew at the end of 1984. Pirelli, understandably, felt they could not reasonably supply the team in 1985.
Goodyear, the other supplier, refused to do so on grounds of capacity. This was resolved before the
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...
in 1985, when Toleman bought the Pirelli contract from the recently closed
Spirit team, after signing a long-term sponsorship with
Luciano Benetton
Luciano Benetton (born 13 May 1935) is an Italian billionaire businessman and one of the co-founders of Benetton Group, an Italian fashion brand. He served as the chairman of Benetton from 1978 to 2012.
Early life
Luciano Benetton was born o ...
.
Finally, the ''entente cordiale'' between FISA and FOCA led more or less to the inclusion of some of FOCA's principals within the FIA, namely
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...
and
Max Mosley. The commercial aspects of Formula One have grown immensely since their involvement in the late 1980s, although the neutrality of the governing bodies and their judgements is still debated by the press and followers of the sport.
See also
*
FIA–FOTA dispute
The FIA–FOTA dispute was a series of political clashes between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the now defunct Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) over proposed changes to the rules and regulations for the 2010 Form ...
, a similar disagreement between the sport's governing body and its participants in .
*
FIM–IRTA war, a similar disagreement between
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...
's governing body and its participants in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
The FIA Homepage Autosport On Line Official Formula 1 Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:FISA-FOCA war
Formula One
Formula One controversies
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Motorsport governing bodies