Caterham and Marussia entered administration in the space of five days of each other this month, with both set to miss the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Earlier this year a proposed budget cap set for 2015 was scrapped following opposition from F1’s leading teams in the Strategy Group.
During his final year as FIA president in 2009 Mosley failed to implement a £40 million budget cap and he thinks the way revenues are shared in F1 needs to be addressed to save other teams.
“In the end, they [Caterham and Marussia] were bound to drop off, and they may not be the last,” Mosley told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It’s not a fair competition any more. The big problem is that the big teams have so much more money than teams like Caterham and Marussia. From a sporting point of view, the sport should split the money equally and then let the teams get as much sponsorship as they can.
“A team like Ferrari will always get more sponsorship than Marussia, but if they all get the same basic money then they all start on a level-playing field, particularly if you have a cost cap where you limit the amount of money each team is allowed to spend.”
Caterham and Marussia have made little progress since joining the grid in 2010, with both operating on a third of the budget available to Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes – who all spend more than £200 million a year. The top teams believe the best way to control F1’s spiralling costs is through technical and sporting regulations, something the likes of Sauber and Force India have both said cannot be considered an alternative to a cost cap.
Read more at http://en.espnf1.com/fia/motorsport/story/180997.html#TkxT3oSfFwzHIqKS.99
F1 should auction off the sponsorships and give equal money from the auction to the teams as operating funds. The teams would be limited to operating with those funds. The points money would go to the teams members themselves, not the teams. Such a scheme would promote competitiveness as well as ensuring financial stability for all teams.
A radical theory…. only that I don’t think sponsorship works like that.
.
Ultimately; new funds entering the sport, depends upon ‘relevance to markets’.
The new engines that many are whining about, in fact are likely to bring in more well funded teams…… Honda for starters, Haas another…… and rumour has it that Audi also wants in.
.
If Audi does join the party….. it could cause/force others to join….. Toyota springs to mind, and maybe BMW.
.
Mercedes is apparently enjoying huge success, from F1 R&D.
Let’s not judge the series too soon, as the new regulations are only just making an impact. 😉