F1 future secured with Concorde Agreement

The future of Formula One was secured on Saturday after the governing body (FIA) and the 12 teams signed a new Concorde Agreement to safeguard the sport until 2012.

The agreement ended threats of a breakaway series after weeks of negotiations between the FIA and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA).

The document, which outlines how Formula One is run and its revenues are distributed, was signed late on Friday.

"Following approval by the World Motor Sport Council, late last night FIA President Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, heralding a renewed period of stability for the FIA Formula One World Championship," an FIA statement read.

"In addition, as agreed in Paris on 24 June 2009, the teams have entered into a resource restriction agreement, which aims to return expenditure to the levels that prevailed in the early 1990s."

The statement added the document features a "slightly revised set of stable sporting and technical regulations (to apply from 2010)."

BMW Sauber, who on Wednesday announced their decision to withdraw from F1 at the end of the season, are the only team not to have signed the agreement.

Next season's new teams U.S. F1, Campos Meta and Manor Grand Prix are among the 12 to have signed.

The sport's future was originally at risk following an objection by FOTA to a budget cap which they felt could lead to a two-tier series with the teams agreeing to the cap being allowed greater technical freedom.

This dispute was averted following a meeting in Paris only for the FOTA teams to walk out of another meeting on July 8 where they had been told they had no voting rights for future proposals as they had not fully entered for 2010.