Is this the end of F1 as the so called pinnacle of motor sports?

As the future of Ferrari and co. hangs in the balance, so does the future of F1 as the pinnacle of motor sports. With three big teams and two top privateers threatening to go, F1 is about to take a turn into mediocrity. A depleted grid, suspect replacements, a lack of top drivers and zero to no oversights on the FIA will most definitely ruin this modern day masterpiece.   

If Ferrari, Renault, Toyota, Redbull and Toro Rosso quit F1, a good number of their top drivers will follow suit. With the likes of Alonso, Raikonnen, Massa and Vettel out of a job, their options if they all want to stay in F1 will be severely limited. Mclaren and Brawn will be the top two choices with BMW second and Williams a distant third.

At Mclaren Kovalainen could be sacrificed while Barrichello could go for Brawn. That still leaves a lot of drivers looking for seats and I doubt any of the top drivers will want to race for a newcomer. At the end of the day a good number of top drivers might chose to quit F1 altogether due to a lack of options.

FOTA which has been a breath of fresh air to Formula One will also suffer. With the big teams being replaced by grateful new comers, FOTA’s ability to keep Ecclestone and Mosley in check will be lost. This will be one of the best thing to ever happen to Bernie and his mate Max.

The quality of the possible teams to replace Ferrari and co. as well as fill up the grid is beyond suspect. There are GP2 teams that want to step up and so far they are the cream of the crop of possible new teams. That in itself tells you a lot about where Ecclestone and Mosley are planning to take F1.

Even with Ecclestone’s generosity and the FIA trying their best to accommodate the possible new teams, most are still struggling to get themselves together. If Ecclestone decides his generosity end in after 2010, we will probably be looking at a smaller grid at best and an even diluted F1 at worst. With Ecclestone and Mosley at the helm, that can’t be ruled out.

As the May 29^th deadline fast approaching with no solution as of yet, the situation could not be more critical. With the Monaco GP taking place this weekend, it’s unfortunate that politics will overshadow the proceedings in Monte Carlo. A solution needs to found and quick because this situation is hurting F1 more than anything or anyone else.