Todt is right to fear for the future of F1

10/04/2020
NEWS STORY

On the same day that Jean Todt told Motorsport.com, that he is "sure that a lot of teams, suppliers, manufacturers, they may have to review their programmes", subsequently admitting that they "may be constrained to stop", Groupe Renault was announcing the cancellation of the dividend for the 2019 financial year.

Indeed, his words come at a time that, according to Forbes, Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda have lost a combined $29.9bn of market value since the start of the year.

As Moody's reports that global car sales are set to fall by 14% this year - with a 21% drop forecast for Western Europe alone - Daimler's market value has plummeted by $13.1bn, Honda by $9bn, Renault by $3bn and Ferrari by $4.8bn.

As if the increasing move towards hybrid and fully electric vehicles wasn't bad enough, the coronavirus has merely further twisted the screw.

In the face of these staggering losses, how do bosses justify the 'luxury' of F1 to their shareholders?

"I don't think that the priority number one now for a manufacturer is to secure continuity in motor racing," admits Todt. "I was just reading a UN report today on the Sustainable Development Goal, which is planning 25 million people losing their job. So in a way that's why I do respect the program of each company.

"But if a company is losing a few dozens of people in a racing team, I don't think it is dramatic," he adds. "The thing that would be dramatic will be to lose four teams in F1 for example.

"I really hope that everybody will take the full picture, but not one individual picture. And that's what we tried to do with the Formula One Group."

In the UK, McLaren, Williams and Racing Point have put the majority of their workers on furlough.

Seven of the current F1 teams are based in the UK and consequently have to file their accounts so that they are publicly available. Ferrari's F1 team is 'merely' a department of the Italian company, while Swiss-based Sauber (Alfa Romeo) is exempt.

According to Forbes, excluding Ferrari and Sauber, the latest filings for the remaining eight reveal that the average cost of running an F1 team is £189.4m, while each employs an average of 573 staff.

The UK government's recently introduced furlough scheme guarantees to pay workers up to a maximum of £2,500.00 a month for three months and currently ends in June.

For most this will help pay the bills, for according to the Office of National Statistics, the average salary in the UK was £30,353 (£2,529.00 a month).

However, across the seven F1 teams based in the UK the average was £87,000, meaning that only around 35% of their pay will be covered whilst on the scheme.

Of course, some will claim that the average is driven up by the salaries of top level staff and drivers - all of which would be exempt under the proposed budget cap - but the reality is that almost all the leading drivers are not actually on the payroll and instead have offshore companies for such matters.

Team revenue comes from three sources; sponsorship, prize money and payments from team owners, Red Bull and AlphaTauri being prime examples of the latter. The prize money, which represents 68% of F1's underlying profits will fall sharply this year whatever happens, as will sponsorship money. Indeed, even team owners may struggle to invest more... with pubs, restaurants and bars shut due to lockdown, sales of Red Bull will be hit considerably hard.

Yet in the midst of all this, the arguments of the budget cap continue, with Zak Brown looking for a $100m limit - though he'll accept $125m - while Ferrari and Red Bull are pushing for much more.

Of course, we've been here before, not just in terms of losing manufacturers and teams, but the whole sorry budget cap nonsense.

Most recently we saw new teams enticed into F1 by the promised of cheaper engines and a more level playing field... ask Manor, Caterham, HRT and Cosworth how that worked out.

Back in 2003, under Max Mosley, the FIA came up with a blueprint for the sport's future which would still be workable.

Amongst the proposals were the banning of all driver aids, standard rear wings, the banning of radio communications between drivers and the pits and the banning of engine telemetry allowing adjustments during races.

"Severe constraints will be placed upon electronic control of throttles, clutches, differentials and actuators (electronic mechanisms to engage a gear)," said Mosley.

All-in-all, it was calculated that the changes planned for 2003 would bring costs down to $50m.

One of the biggest opponents of the plan was - surprise, surprise - Ferrari, under the leadership of a certain Mr Todt.

"I was calculating this morning that with what we want to impose on the teams, together with the F1 group, the budget will be with a new figure between $150m for a small team up to over $300m for a big one, which does not include the cost of the development of the engine for manufacturers," says Todt as we fast forward to 2020.

"This is still crazy," he admits. "So can you even imagine where we were? And still we face resistance from some of them.

"I hope a few team owners or team sponsors will keep the motivation," he adds. "That's why we must make sure we don't discourage them, because they may say 'OK, after all of that, what is the purpose? Do I still like it? Do I still need it?'

"So we must encourage them to make sure they still like it and they still need it. On that, we have a responsibility.

"But honestly, I cannot speak on their behalf. I don't know into detail their business and the way they are. That has been in Formula 1 since the existence of Formula 1, people coming and leaving. I hope at this present time they will stay."

An average workforce of 573, an average salary of £87,000, four F1-involved car manufacturers losing a combined $29.9bn of market value, the increasing move to hybrid and electric, the ongoing pandemic... not to mention the cash issues facing F1 itself. No wonder the likes of Todt and Zak Brown are scared... they have every right to be.

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Published: 10/04/2020
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