13/09/2020
NEWS STORY
As F1 struggles to retain the ten teams it already has, far less attract fresh blood, Zak Brown has revealed that new proposals will see new entrants required to pay $200m (£154m) to the existing ten teams.
As the sport moves more and more towards a franchise-based system, the move is an attempt to ease the (financial) situation whereby the prize pot is diluted should a new team seek to enter the sport.
Whereas the prize pot is currently divided among the ten teams, an eleventh or twelfth team would see the dividend decrease, hence the call for new teams to pay the $200m as financial compensation.
"What that $200million is intended to do is to protect the value of the existing teams," said Zak Brown, "as reported on the Williams sale that's less expensive and you get a lot more for your money than starting a new team.
"If you believe in the franchise value growth of Formula 1 then you'll get that $200million back and then some at a later date," he added, the new rule forming part of the new Concorde Agreement recently signed by all the teams.
"The way the regulations are written there is the ability for Liberty and the teams to agree to adjust that number," he added. "I think what we're trying to do as an industry is stop what we've had in the past where a USF1 announces they are going Formula 1 racing and they never get to the track.
"The $200million is intended to really make sure that if someone is coming into the sport they have the wherewithal to do it, and we don't have what we've historically had which is random announcements that people are going to come in and then they never make it to the track.
"I don't think you'd ever see that in other major forms of sport."
And on the subject of money, speaking on Friday - though giving very little away - Otmar Szafnauer confirmed that the row over Column 1 prize money dating back to 2018, when Haas disputed the fact that Racing Point was a continuation of Force India and should therefore be subject to the same rules as any other new team on entering the sport, namely not initially receiving prize money, it has been revealed that the dispute has been settled.
"We're pleased that it's come to a conclusion and we can now, the entire team, can focus on what we're here to do, which is go racing and entertain the fans. We're happy that it's behind us," Szafnauer told reporters.
"Nothing to add," said Haas team boss, Guenther Steiner, "What Otmar said is right. We move on."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mugello, here.