The question of money is always at the heart of F1 and the rate at which the small teams are paid is a big issue…for the small teams of course. Gene Haas fired a particular salvo when he said that paying the historic and big teams more is fair and that F1 shouldn’t become socialistic in its approach to prize money distribution.
“I find it actually disappointing that such a new entrant in F1, who has no previous experience of owning an F1 team, makes such a profound statement,” the Force India team principal told Autosport.
“Anybody looking at the income distribution pattern of F1 will immediately, without even being prompted, realise how lopsided it all is.
“Clearly the DNA of F1 must include independent teams, not just manufacturer teams.
“And independent teams need to be able to be financially viable and able to compete.
“So I was particularly happy when Liberty Media and Chase Carey effectively said what Force India has been pleading for a while now: that the income distribution needs to be revisited, and adjusted to be fair to the smaller teams as well.
“For Haas to make such a profound statement, I obviously found that to be disappointing.”
F1’s Chase Carey may be saying that he’d like a more competitive field and that may or may not have been wrapped in words that suggest a new pay-out system but for me, it isn’t the distribution percentages that cause a complete lack of competition.
If you look at Ferrari and Red Bull over the last three years, they have had no answer for Mercedes while spending and receiving more money than all the independent teams.
The solution is through regulations and not making changes to F1 under the guise of high technology, social responsibility and sustainability that double or triple the cost to compete…such as the outrageously complex and efficient Hybrid engine. A very cool piece of kit but who can afford it these days?
This isn’t just the hybrid power unit, to be fair, as the evolution of the sport has been moving toward wind tunnels, massive CFD systems, simulators and huge motorhomes etc. These have nothing to do with road relevancy or being green but have contributed to the cost of F1 and it is, perhaps, these things that Vijay feel are granular to the series for any team, therefore, the small teams need to afford it.
Hat Tip: Autosport
I understand Force India frustration about how the Money is distributed. They finished ahead for Williams & McLaren but were paid less money than both of them.
Thanks Gene for announcing to the world yet again that Americans don’t know what the word ‘socialism’ actually means.