Williams first to blink

[Somebody]

When Bernie has you by the balls, your heart and mind soon follow, apparently.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75626
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/...puts-in-entry/
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=38022

[AJP]

I'm sure there is a myriad of legal and politic reasons why Williams have signed up for next year.

[555-04Q2]

Bernie...money...deal...soul...hell.

[F1boat]

I'm sure there is a myriad of legal and politic reasons why Williams have signed up for next year.

And money... they owe Bernie, I guess.

[AJP]

Possibly a bit of fence sitting..

At the end of the day, Williams are a team that just want to race.

[I am evil Homer]

Also they're an independent team that's losing it's major backer....it has to sign up to something to convince people to invest in the team otherwise it could easily cease to exist in 12 months time.

[ioan]

During last winter they were paid TV money in advance and in exchange had to sign up until 2010 or 2011.

[Hondo]

Did they sign on stating they would use Totota engines, or Cosworths? Don't you have to declare your engine when you sign on?

[DexDexter]

When Bernie has you by the balls, your heart and mind soon follow, apparently.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75626
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/...puts-in-entry/
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=38022

Bad move. Everybody knows that in these sorts of situations, in order to fight the "employer", you need to stay together, you need to have a united front. Together they are strong, alone they are weak. This is what has always been wrong with teams in F1. They do what's best for them in the short run without seeing the bigger picture.

[maximilian]

Williams is exactly the kind of privateer team which would eventually have disappeared if there was no cost reduction measure (they almost did this season already), and as such it never really made much sense for them to side with the manufacturers. The budget cap is exactly what suits their current business model, and depending on who actually shows up next year (and I still think that'll be everyone except Toyota and Renault, who both seem to want to quit for really "other" reasons than this dispute), Williams may well find themselves at the top of the grid. If Toyota withdraws as expected, I would imagine they take the Cosworth offering. BMW would also make sense, with their old connection. Then again, Williams BMW may prove to be quicker than BMW Sauber...

As such, I can't say I blame Williams, and I would expect more teams to follow their lead soon in the game of entry-deadline-chicken.