Farewell Ferrari?

The economic downturn was supposed to have been a tipping point, marking the shift to a new era in Formula 1. An era in which the sport responded to the excesses of previous years in an attempt to get its house back in order: lower costs; closer racing; better management; possibly even improved governance were on the agenda. Yet F1 is now on the verge of losing Ferrari: not just a part of the F1 brand, they are arguably part of the tangible product on offer. Instead of a tipping point therefore, did the downturn simply signal the dawning of a new political battle? To what extent might we see a re-configuration of the politics of F1 as a result? What will this re-configuration entail, and how might the process play out? Will the teams (Toyota has threatened to withdraw too) ascend to a new position of power? Or will the governing body, the FIA, seek to assert its power position as the dominant force in F1? And how might the overall introspection associated with internal political struggles impact upon the overall commercial appeal of the sport? At a time when sponsorship budgets around the world are being slashed, and when product rivals are gaining strength, can F1's governors and teams really afford to have such a public argument and potentially fractious split?