02/03/2015
NEWS STORY
It is understood that a number of teams are to be advanced their prize money in order to overcome cash-flow problems.
Unsurprisingly, it is the three teams, Force India, Lotus and Sauber, who were most vocal about the chasm between the sport's haves and have-nots at the end of 2014.
As Caterham and Marussia appeared to be in their death throes, the three teams warned they too were far from safe and amidst calls for changes to the sport including the allocation of prize money and limiting spending, there was talk (subsequently denied) of one of more teams boycotting events in protest.
Now, with the season opener just two weeks away, at a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone last week, the F1 supremo agreed to advance each team around $10m. The payment, which it is understood, will be made by the end of this week, is to ensure they can line up on the grid in Melbourne.
Which, of course, raises the question, how did it get to this?
What if Ecclestone had refused to advance the money, would the teams have headed to Cash Converters?
Furthermore, the money is to ensure they are on the grid in Melbourne, what about beyond that, are we facing a season where teams, like Marussia and Caterham in 2014, will miss races, picking and choosing which events it is worth attending.
Force India has said that its financial situation was exacerbated by cash-flow - or lack of it - this being a particularly bad time of the year. The Silverstone outfit's situation not helped by suppliers, alarmed by the failures of Caterham and Marussia, and its own financial situation, wanting payment for goods and services up front.
Whilst many are getting excited about the return of Marussia, Pitpass sources claim there remains a large question mark over its prize money for 2014, money the new owners are banking on.
Sadly, this is a situation that some have been warning about for some time however, the powers that be and the sport's richer teams have chosen to ignore it.
Despite some great racing in 2014 and the sport's flawless adaption to a whole raft of new rules, audience figures (live and on TV) took a dive.
With Mercedes looking set to dominate again this season, this will further impact viewing figures, and though the teams are raking in the money from the various new pay-per-view TV deals Ecclestone is arranging all over the globe, another drop in audience figures will impact sponsorship deals... existing and potential. Indeed, look at some of the cars on the Melbourne grid (no names) and you'll see that this is already an issue.
Not for the first time the sport has failed to look at the long term.