Kaltenborn criticizes Ferrari’s attitude in the face of the crisis
Monisha Kaltenborn, head of the Sauber F1 team, believes that the big teams - starting with their engine partner Ferrari following recent statements by Marco Mattiacci - should be more concerned about the fate of the smaller teams.
The Sauber team responded to the statements of Scuderia Ferrari’s director, Marco Mattiacci, who claimed that F1 did not need struggling small teams. He added that teams, above all, need to be competitive and have a viable business model.
The statements were not appreciated by the director of the Swiss team, Monisha Kaltenborn, who believes that Ferrari – which supplies the engines for the Sauber F1 team – should be a little more concerned about what’s happening at the back of the grid. She also believes that manufacturers need a return on investment which, if not achieved, could lead to departures like BMW at the end of 2009 or Toyota.
« Wasn’t it Marco who also said he received questions about the return on investment from his partners? How does he plan to continue for it to go as well with the way things are going here? » states Monisha Kaltenborn, quoted by Autosport.
She believes that the disappearance of small teams could harm the larger ones and that the latter should be concerned: What will happen if their partners – who are likely paying a lot – start saying: ‘What is my return on investment with the results? What is my return on investment with the declining audience and the less attractive spectacle?’
« So I’m wondering if his business model would work if he didn’t have the support of this kind of partners or a manufacturer? Because I think if a manufacturer didn’t put all that money on the table, you would have a business model that disappears. And I know what I’m talking about, » adds the Sauber team boss.
