Ecclestone: F1 is not in crisis
Bernie Ecclestone believes that despite the financial difficulties faced by some teams, Formula 1 is not in crisis. He also sharply criticized the crowdfunding campaign set up by Caterham to be present in Abu Dhabi for the last race of the 2014 season.
After the financial difficulties faced by the Marussia and Caterham teams, with the former having been declared bankrupt while the latter is trying to secure funding to be present in Abu Dhabi, Bernie Ecclestone believes that Formula 1 is not in crisis.
« People say that F1 is in crisis. It’s absolute nonsense. We’ve had some teams in crisis. People come and go, » Ecclestone told BBC Sport.
Ecclestone thinks that team principals should know how much money comes in and how much goes out, and with regard to Marussia and Caterham, the FOM boss believes they didn’t calculate so well – they spent more than they had.
He also stated that both teams are still in the championship if they show up in Abu Dhabi for the final race of the season in two weeks. But if not, both teams will be excluded from the F1 championship.
Caterham in Abu Dhabi? Ecclestone has doubts
Bernie Ecclestone has also expressed doubts about the Caterham team’s ability to be present in Abu Dhabi following the launch of a crowdfunding effort: “I don’t see how they can come back.”
He also criticized, like Christian Horner before him, the method of the Leafield team administrators, quoted by Reuters: « I think it’s a disaster. We do not want begging. If people can’t afford to be in Formula 1, they should find something else to do. »
Towards Assistance for Struggling Teams
Regarding the other “small” teams, Ecclestone hopes that Sauber, Force India, and Lotus will still be present in F1 in 2015 and proposes an exceptional payment to these teams to help them survive financially. Perhaps the four or five bigger teams could make a contribution for one year only.
This money could come from payments that could have been made to Caterham and Marussia – if the latter are not present in Abu Dhabi and therefore out of the championship – for a total of approximately 55 million euros. Ecclestone explained that this sum could not be given to these two teams in advance to help them survive because « we are not allowed to support a team in one way or another. »
