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Abu Dhabi: An extraordinary meeting of the International Automobile Federation's (FIA) World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) held in Paris on Tuesday confirmed the provisional date of November 15, 2009 for the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also dropped the Canadian GP for the 2009 championship.
Abu Dhabi will now be the host for the grand finale of the 18-race calendar which kicks off with the Australian GP on March 29.
Among the other changes to the provisional calendar, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps has been moved forward from September to August 30 while the Italian Grand Prix has been scheduled for September 13.
Among other decisions reached on Tuesday, the WMSC unanimously agreed to give FIA President Max Mosley authority to negotiate with the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) the introduction of radical measures to achieve a substantial reduction of costs in the championship from 2010.
Failing agreement with FOTA, the FIA will enforce the necessary measures to achieve this goal, the FIA said. The FIA said the meeting unanimously agreed to allow Formula One teams to equalise engine performance across the field for 2009, pending the introduction of cost-saving measures from 2010.
Marco Piccinini, FIA Deputy President for Sport, confirmed that he is to leave his position, one year before the end of his term, to focus on his other professional commitments. His resignation takes effect from the next FIA General Assembly on November 7 when his successor will be elected.
The WMSC also agreed to propose to the FIA General Assembly that the sporting power in India be transferred from the Motorsports Association of India (MAI) to the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
It was also agreed that the FIA will invite tenders for the Commercial Rights to the FIA World Rally Championship from 2010. The tender will be published on October 16 and close on November 15. The winning tender will be announced at the start of Rally Ireland, the first round of the 2009 season.
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