May 20 (GMM) Should Ferrari win its injunction against the 2010 budget cap, the governing FIA has indicated it intends to appeal.
Following a one-hour hearing on Tuesday, attended by three lawyers for the Italian team, Paris' Tribunal de Grade Instance is set to announce its verdict on Wednesday afternoon.In the event of an adverse ruling, however, FIA sources have indicated that they will exercise their right of appeal.Neither side commented specifically about Tuesday's events, but it has emerged that forming part of the FIA's defence was a dossier of letters from several potential 2010 entrants who support the move to a budget cap.The FIA's lawyer is also understood to have argued on the grounds of jurisdiction, insisting that it is the Paris body's mandate, not a civil court's or a team's, to set regulations.Ferrari is thought to have hit back by arguing that the FIA has broken the team's afforded rights under a 2005 agreement, where changes to the rules must have the involvement of the F1 Commission.The FIA responded that Ferrari did not object to the regulations at the appropriate time.Another noteworthy element of Ferrari's defence is that it is unreasonable to ask teams to slash expenditures by 90 per cent in one hit.One lawyer for the Maranello team, Henri Peter, said the biggest teams' annual budgets can top "400 to 500 million euros" at present.
