21/11/2015
NEWS STORY
Lotus Deputy Team Principal, Federico Gastaldi, has called on the sport to review its business model.
Two of the three teams that entered the sport in 2010 have fallen by the wayside, whilst the third was only saved at the eleventh hour.
Whilst one team can spend £200m in a single season, others are having to rely on handouts from Bernie Ecclestone.
No surprise therefore that Lotus, which is dependent for its survival on Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn opting to buy the team, believes the sport must seriously consider revising its current business model.
"There are so many financial issues throughout the sport, whether for teams or promoters, that it is hard to see where things will go," said Gastaldi.
"I know that both Mr Ecclestone and the FIA have been trying to change things and I also know that teams aren't always the easiest to work with when we have to join forces.
"Our agendas and situations differ too much and are almost always preceded with self-preservation.
"Additionally, and I have said this before, we have to do everything that we can - all of us - to help promoters sell tickets. Without fans, where would we be?"
Indeed, other than the financial problems facing some of the teams, Silverstone is paying its race hosting fees a year in arrears and Austin, which only joined the calendar in 2012, is already admitting to problems following cuts to its state subsidy.
TV viewing numbers are in decline, a situation which won't be helped by this week's news from the BBC, whilst a radical overhaul of the rules in 2017 looks likely to drive cost ever higher.
All this at a time race results can be fairly reliably predicted, and the future of two (three?) teams hangs in the balance.