Budget ceiling: Ferrari threatens to leave Formula 1

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                In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, Mattia Binotto warns of a possible departure from Ferrari from Formula 1 if the budget ceiling is further reduced.

Formula 1 wants to work with a maximum budget from next season. Initially, that budget was set at $ 175 million. However, as more and more Grands Prix is ​​disappearing from the calendar and the world is in danger of getting into an ever greater economic crisis, a number of teams want to lower the ceiling even further. At the most recent (video) meeting of the teams and the F1 organization, a proposal of $ 145 million in 2021 and $ 130 million from 2022 was discussed, but that is not enough for a racing stable like McLaren. They want to go even further back.

Binotto warns in The Guardian newspaper about an all too radical change of plans: “That 145 million is already a new and radical request, compared to where we started last year. That is not feasible without having to make big sacrifices. especially in the field of personnel. When it goes down even further, we come to a point where we have to look at alternatives to use our racing DNA. “

Ferrari has “ethical task”

Ferrari has – together with Red Bull and Mercedes – the largest budget in Formula 1, hundreds of millions higher than the competition and far above the proposed budget ceiling. The Italian stable will therefore have to add a lot of water to the wine, but is not prepared to dilute that wine too much. “We are all aware that the outbreak of COVID-19 is going through a terribly difficult time for Formula 1, and indeed the entire world. But this is not the time to make hasty decisions. There is a danger that we are now make decisions that we cannot predict the consequences of. ” For example, according to him, Ferrari has the “ethical task” – especially in these times – to take care of the staff and prevent mass layoffs.

‘Royal class of motorsport’

In addition to the social aspect of the loss of potentially hundreds of jobs, Binotto also thinks that a much lower budget erodes sport far too much: “Formula 1 must be the top of motorsport in terms of technology and performance. It must be attractive for car manufacturers and sponsors who want to identify with this prestigious sport. If we cut costs too far, we risk lowering the level. “

Smart budget ceiling

According to Binotto, Ferrari is not rabid against a reduced budget, but the stable proposes a smart model. This should take into account, for example, additional costs for the development and production of parts that go to customer teams. Binotto also sees something in an earlier proposal by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. He has already indicated that his team is prepared to supply the smaller teams with complete cars: “If the current emergency really leads to competitors threatening to fall, Ferrari is open to that. That is no sacrilege, we have it in Formula 1 done before. ”

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