FIA and FOTA reach F1 agreement to stay together

An agreement has been reached between the FIA and the FOTA teams to prevent a breakaway Formula One series.

The original argument over budget caps led to an official announcement a few days ago that the FOTA teams, namely McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP, would quit the FIA-sanctioned F1 racing season at the end of the year and start their own series. FIA president Max Mosley was at the head of the controversy for creating the budget-cut rules for 2010.

However, after a meeting today between FOTA and the FIA, the two parties have agreed to continue with a single F1 racing event. The agreement now states that all teams now have to “try” to bring their budgets down to early-90s levels within two years, while Max Mosley will be forcefully retired when his position opens up for a new election this August.

Apparently the 2010 season will follow the same rules as 2009, with no specific budget limits.