Binotto: Ferrari is considering entering IndyCar or Endurance racing
In order to safeguard all its jobs from the F1 program, Mattia Binotto admitted that Ferrari is considering entering another championship, including IndyCar in the United States or Endurance racing, through its new regulations.
Times are changing for Scuderia Ferrari. Exclusively involved in Formula 1, the Italian team is considering turning to an additional championship. The reason is the budget cap principle, initially set at $175 million in the top category from 2021, and likely reduced to $145 million per year. A principle very close to being approved by Formula 1, after consulting all the teams.
Initially set at 175 million dollars, this cap would be lowered due to the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. A way to help smaller teams like Williams or Haas survive. But at the other end of the grid, Scuderia Ferrari will have to limit its spending, with a budget previously estimated at 450 million euros per year. This limitation will inevitably lead to a restructuring of part of its F1 staff.
In an interview given this Thursday to Sky Sport Italia, Mattia Binotto wishes that each of the Ferrari employees finds a job for the future. It is therefore for this reason of job preservation that the Ferrari team principal indicates that the team is beginning to evaluate entering other championships, alongside Formula 1.
« I can confirm that we are looking at IndyCar, which is currently a very different category from Formula 1, but with a regulation change in 2022. »
Ferrari could actually seize the opportunity of the regulatory change, with the arrival of the hybrid turbo V6 engine in IndyCar, which was already planned for 2021.
« We had made forecasts based on a budget limited to 175 million dollars. An additional reduction represents a significant challenge for us. It will inevitably lead us to review our staff, structure, and organization. »
Next to IndyCar, Binotto also admitted that Ferrari is looking at the Endurance championship as another option.
« We also observe the world of endurance and other series. We will try to make the best choice. »
If Ferrari has never participated in IndyCar, the Italian team already has a history in Endurance, with seven overall victories as a constructor between 1957 and 1964.
Currently, the Italian team is no longer registered as a factory team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but only through the AF Corse team in LMGTE. Prospects also exist in Endurance racing with the introduction in the 2020-2021 season of the new Hypercar category (which succeeds LMP1) and the LMDh Le Mans Daytona cars, from the endurance championship in the United States, which will also be able to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans starting from 2022.
