Former FIA President Max Mosley has warned Formula One’s powers-that-be that much more needs to be done to cut costs and he has predicted that two or three teams could quit in 2011 unless something is done to address the issue.
Mosley has long campaigned for commonsense when it comes to team expenditure and while various measures have been taken - including curbing testing for example, he doesn’t think they have gone far enough.
“A crisis threatens F1,” Mosley said in an interview with Die Welt this week. “At the moment we are celebrating a great season. But the future looks bleak.
“In 2011 you will need 100 million dollars to compete. 30 or 40 million will come from Bernie Ecclestone and perhaps 20 or 25 million will be from sponsors or a pay driver. I think around six teams are asking themselves where they will get the rest from. The FIA cannot afford to lose any more teams. It is possible two or three teams could quit.
“In January 2008 I warned that without cost reduction it wouldn’t just be the small teams that would have problems, but also the manufacturers. That forecast happened. Honda, BMW, Toyota and Renault quit because the budgets were spiralling out of control. It is like that today still and that concerns me.”
Mosley meanwhile was also critical with how F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has continued to expand the schedule.
Next year F1 will feature a record 20 races with India joining the fold and with the USA and Russia also set to join in the next few years, costs will be pushed up even more.
“For me, personally it is too such,” Mosley added. “In my opinion that is too many Sunday afternoon’s people will have to align to follow F1.
“It will become annoying and if you miss one race, it might become a habit and then it will snowball and affect the ratings.”
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