Ex-F1 driver turned pundit, Johnny Herbert has urged Liberty Media to not buckle to the power of big teams as they seek to level the lopsided financial playing feel that is part of modern Formula 1, reminding them about the vital importance of smaller teams at the pinnacle of the sport.
Herbert told The Guardian, “The smaller teams in many regards are more important then the bigger teams. They are the heart and soul of the sport. Force India and Williams do a brilliant job. For the buck that they spend on a season they do a better job than Mercedes but they don’t win.”
“To get that you need distribution of payments across the board. If the bigger teams don’t like it, and threaten to leave, Liberty would be right to put pressure on them. They would be doing it for the good of F1.”
Formula 1 income is shared unfairly among teams with Ferrari $105-million for merely showing up at a grand prix in 2015. That year they banked $192-million, which was more than double what Williams earned for finishing third and almost three times more than fifth place Force India pocketed.
The Concorde Agreement which rules the murky finances of Formula 1 is set to run until 2020, and Liberty have made no secret that they intend to revise the distribution of wealth.
Herbert believes that Liberty Media need to stand up to the grandee teams, “There has to be an element of facing them down. For the investment Liberty have put in and for the growth they want the sport to give them they will have to confront those teams and put under them that pressure.”
“Liberty have to oppose the teams and say we need to make this bigger and better. Getting the threats is something they will have to deal with because it is the only way to improve the whole pit lane.”
“At the moment the smaller teams know they have no chance of winning and even with what Williams and Force India have done over the last few years they still know they are not realistically going to be able to win. This is a great opportunity to make a huge competitive battle for everybody on the grid,” added Herbert.
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