Ferrari, Red Bull, Sauber and Toro Rosso are not part of FOTA, and when the
Maranello team left the association in December 2011, it said it had lost
impetus and “run its course”.
Disagreement over the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA) prompted a split in
the teams’ unity, and severely weakened FOTA’s bargaining position.
Bob Fearnely, deputy team principal at Force India, told Telegraph Sport
earlier this month that the departure of Red Bull and Ferrari marked a “lost
opportunity” for the idea of collective bargaining by the teams with Bernie
Ecclestone and Formula One.
In recent seasons it has had to focus on less contentious issues, such as
fans’ forums, liaising with circuits on facilities, as well as negotiating a
tyre blanket deal with Pirelli.
Meanwhile, at pre-season testing in Jerez, Red Bull have been enjoying yet
another troubled day, while McLaren have also had problems.
With around two-and-a-half hours of running left in Bahrain, Daniel Ricciardo
had completed just 23 laps, while Jenson Button had done only 20.
McLaren tweeted around lunchtime: “We’re looking into the problem that stopped
Jenson out on-track this morning. Hopefully, we’ll head out later this
afternoon.”
The Force India of Sergio Perez once again topped the timesheets, followed
closely by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who has completed 61 laps.