Mosley: F1 is not a “fair” competition

While Formula 1 is deeply plunged into a cost crisis, with the first consequences being the administration of Caterham and Marussia, Max Mosley, the former FIA president from 1993 to 2009, has expressed an alarming view of the situation.

After several weeks of uncertainty surrounding the identity of the actual owners of the structure, Caterham was placed under judicial administration last week. A few days later, in a less tense context, Marussia went through this procedure. Both teams will miss the United States Grand Prix and likely the Brazilian Grand Prix, although the Russian team has not yet officially confirmed it.

Interviewed by BBC Radio 5 Live, Max Mosley – who failed to implement a budget cap of 50 million euros in Formula 1 in 2009 – thinks the issue is one of revenue: « Ultimately, [Caterham and Marussia] were destined to go bankrupt, and they likely won’t be the last. » Placing them in administration doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the road; potential buyers may come forward to purchase the teams.

“It’s not a fair competition,” the Briton continues. “The big problem is that the big teams have much more money than teams like Caterham or Marussia. From a sporting point of view, the discipline should redistribute the money equally and then let the teams obtain as many sponsors as possible. A team like Ferrari will always have more money than Marussia, but if they all had the same base amount they could start on the same level, especially if you have a capped budget with which you limit the amounts each team is allowed to spend.”

The current distribution of income in the premier discipline favors the big teams, which are also the most victorious because they are the most competitive. For example, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Williams alone have shared 63% of the income, with bonuses linked to victories over the last three seasons (7.5% of the income), while the other six teams have to make do with the remaining 37%. Among these, only Lotus has a seat on the F1 Strategy Group, which is responsible for all decisions regarding the future of the premier discipline. The Strategy Group is a tripartite body composed equally of representatives from the FIA, the FOM, and the teams.

Caterham and Marussia, like HRT, joined F1 in 2010 following a FIA tender. The candidates at the time were promised the implementation of a budget cap. However, in the midst of the war between the FIA and FOTA, this procedure appeared to be a means of pressure on the big teams, with the FIA’s desire to only let competitors onto the grid who would choose the Cosworth engine. The promises were not followed through, leaving the newly arrived teams stranded with significantly lower budgets and a precarious economic model. HRT disappeared at the end of the 2012 season.

Currently, the differences between leading teams and more modest structures focus on how to reduce costs. The former believe that expenditures can be controlled through regulatory means, while others, like Sauber or Force India, have stated that this cannot replace budget caps.