(Motorsport-Total.com) – McLaren CEO Zak Brown hopes to see the Formula 1 season soon, otherwise he fears drastic consequences for some teams. “If we had no Formula 1 this year, the financial impact would be devastating for all teams in Formula 1 – like for any industry, if you shut them down for an entire year,” he said in a video conference with selected media – including ‘Motorsport-Total.com’.
© LAT
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Zak Brown is currently concerned about the future of Formula One zoom
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Because the Formula 1 teams naturally live from the income they generate from racing – be it sponsorship income or the championship prize money. “It’s about a billion dollars that will be distributed among the racing teams.” A big chunk that the teams would miss.
“And that would happen if we didn’t drive,” said Brown. “Then we would have to find solutions to the lack of income.”
In addition to discussions about a reduction in expenditure in the coming years, Formula 1 is currently also helping with direct financial injections. It was only yesterday that Liberty Media announced that some teams had made an advance payment. McLaren is not one of them.
“We have not received an advance or special payments,” confirms Brown. “I haven’t emptied my mailbox yet, but I don’t think there is anything in it.” He also does not know which teams have received payments from Liberty Media.
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But the managing director is not surprised: “This only shows the urgent need that sport finds in some teams. I am glad that they intervened and helped the teams.” For Brown, however, these payments are only short-term solutions: “Anyone who borrowed money only borrowed time.”
So Brown is counting on other solutions to be found: “We need a what-if scenario,” he says. At the moment, many would assume that Formula 1 can start again in the summer – albeit without a spectator. But nobody can say for sure whether and when it can really start again.
“We’re moving on raw eggs,” says Brown, but trusts Formula 1 that it can implement appropriate plans for a quick return to sport. And what if not? Then the emergency plan required by Brown has to help. “We did set up all the financial situations, but the consequences if we couldn’t drive at all would be extremely threatening for everyone in Formula One.”
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