F1 - Fiscal Responsibility vs Forced Budgets

[sagi58]

Although I understand the importance of being fiscally­ responsible, during this world-wide financial crisis, I­ wouldn't take the same approach Todt and the FIA­ seem to be taking.

First of all, F1 is not a non-profit­ organization/charity, it's a business, as such it­ needs strong teams who can afford to run cars that are­ at a high level of performance. It seems that all the­ cost saving measures that have been introduced recently and are­ being currently discussed are little more than veiled attempts­ at creating a homogenous group of teams to race. ­ Rather than hold back the development of new­ technology, rather than ruling that all teams must not­ stop for fuel nor allow them to test in-season, rather than imposing one tire manufacturer on all­ teams, etc. the FIA should be looking at how many teams­ are on the grid that really can't afford to be­ there, without these "cost-saving" measures. ­

Yes, that sounds callous; but, look at the start up­ and operating costs for an F1 team! Consider not only­ the "visible" expenses such as drivers, pit­ crew, cars, etc. but also those we don't see on the­ track on Sundays such as the car assemblers, designers,­ etc. Each team could probably run a small country with­ the budget required to be competitive in F1! ­

Granted, this may sound like an elitist attitude; but,­ in the end, isn't that what F1 is? An elite sport?­ Isn't it supposed to be the "creme de la­ creme" of the motorsport world? Can F1 afford­ to become a sport where anyone of us can get together­ with a group of friends, throw our money into a pot and­ wait for the FIA to help us by making all the others­ teams drop their standards and expectations? With all­ these teams that need to be protected by the big bad­ teams with money, is it any wonder that many fans­ can't afford to go to a race? We are the ones­ carrying the brunt of the burden!

Maybe the answer­ is to allow those financially struggling teams to go on­ hiatus for 2-3 years to determine if F1 is for them? ­ This should be allowed only ONCE to avoid a revolving door­ to the race track!! Maybe a consideration is giving back more of the profits to the teams, instead of making the rich richer?

Do I have any answers? NO, I­ do NOT! But, then again, it doesn't seem that the­ FIA does either! Hopefully, all the teams will have an­ equitable say and that they are allowed to be honest,­ rather than politically correct in voicing their­ concerns.

I love F1 racing; but, with all the­ restrictions being imposed on the sport, of late, I now­ believe that if the any team can't play with the­ big boys, they should find another game!!

[Greig]

http://www.thescuderia.net/forums/sh...to-safeguard-F

[sagi58]

oooops... I'll move my post!!

Go ahead and delete this thread!!

Thanks in advance!!