F1 facing shrinking grids
2015: SMALL TEAMS FACING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS WILL NOT BE BAILED OUT
In the current situation, only six teams may make it to Melbourne in March.
So it all comes down to the final event at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, when double points play a part. But with Lewis Hamilton only having to finish second to his team-mate Nico Rosberg, the level of excitement is rather contained – not quite the effect Bernie Ecclestone was striving for when he originally mooted the bizarre concept.
It was a strange weekend in Brazil, with the future of the sport – and that of a few of the teams – under discussion.
The big surprise was the turnaround in Bernie Ecclestone’s attitude as the F1 boss changed his view on the smaller teams accusing Caterham and Marussia of poor financial management.
This from a man who just over a week ago admitted he was partially to blame for the sport’s current financial problems but did not know how to fi x them.
Following a meeting with the team principals at the Interlagos circuit last Saturday, where the various problems and the engine freeze situation were discussed, the result was a stalemate. Nothing was resolved and Ecclestone restored his bombastic approach to the plight of the smaller teams.
He is quoted as saying: “People say F1 is in crisis, absolute nonsense. We’ve had a couple of teams in crisis.” He told the media he had little sympathy for teams such as Marussia and Caterham, who created their own problems with unsustainable debt. He continued: “People come and go. They need to know how much is coming in and how much is going out.”
He advised teams to spend less instead of hoping someone would subsidise them. Now that is an interesting scenario.
How does one spend less in a sport that demands a constant baseline expenditure of millions of dollars, made worse by the nonexistent cost cuts and caps mooted earlier in the year?
The major teams have rejected control on expenditure – effectively eliminating any serious new entries into the sport.
Perhaps as more teams drop away, interest in F1 wanes even further and the shareholders’ profit is reduced, someone will begin to realise it is all going horribly wrong.
One voice of reason was Niki Lauda of Mercedes, who said: “In difficult economic times like these, where sponsors are hard to find, we need to help the small teams. This is also in our interest because they also need to spend money on tyres and engines.”
As an engine supplier Mercedes profits from their clients and certainly does not wish to lose them.
One thing that puzzles me is the prize money due to the now defunct Marussia team – some $40 million (R448 million).
If this is money due to them, why could it not have been used to assist the financially crippled team? Ecclestone claims he cannot permit this as he would have to do the same for all the teams. Sure, but not all the teams are in Marussia’s situation.
Apparently at the meeting those same funds were discussed with the idea of redistributing the money to assist smaller teams – ironic when the team that earned the $40 million cannot be helped.
Now it looks as though we have yet another team battling for survival. Vijay Mallya’s Force India joins Lotus, Sauber and Caterham in the fight for survival.
If we lose them it means only six teams with 12 cars will take the grid in Melbourne next March, as Ecclestone has said three-car team entries will not be permitted in 2015.
Let’s hope the maestro has something very constructive up his sleeve.