Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn says she continues to campaign for a more level playing field in Formula 1, and points out that thanks to the big teams the sport will be even more expensive next season when new rules kick in.
Together with her Force India counterparts, the Sauber co-owner and boss is waiting on the next steps after formally complaining about F1’s income and rule-making processes to the European Commission.
“Yes, and this struggle continues,” Kaltenborn told Blick.
Asked if the Swiss team is already working on next year’s car, Kaltenborn confirmed: “Yes. The cars will be wider and more aggressive, but it’s also even more expensive, because the big teams determine where we are headed with the rules.”
“Take the premier league in England. There, last place in the championship gets only slightly less money than the champion, because the big ones already have an advantage with more sponsorship and advertising revenue,” said Kaltenborn.
“With a system like that, a club like Leicester can win the title. But in Formula One, the big teams get multiples more than the smaller teams. The distribution of money and privileges when it comes to the rules are a distortion of competition,” she alleged.
Indeed, Sauber is currently struggling merely for survival, and is now faced with the task of preparing for radically different chassis rules for 2017.
Kaltenborn has ruled out cutting costs by emulating Haas’ ‘B team’ approach to F1, and she also played down the likelihood Sauber might turn its attention to Formula E or Le Mans, “I can’t imagine it, because formula one is our core business.”
Instead, she said talks with potential investors are currently taking place, “They are confidential,” Kaltenborn insisted, when pressed for details. “A responsible entrepreneur will not go public until everything is signed and sealed.”
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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