Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag has urged Formula 1 to use the coronavirus “opportunity” to finally address the financial imbalance between teams.
Currently, a battle is brewing over how far the sport needs to go to ensure the financial survival of all 10 outfits, with the new 2021 budget cap at the heart of the debate.
A small trim has already been unofficially agreed from the original $175m number to $150m, however, McLaren is leading a push for that figure to go as low as $100m while Ferrari is arguing for a two-tier cap with a higher limit for those who produce parts for other teams.
But Agag believes F1 should look to go even further.
“I think generally for motorsport this could be an opportunity and specifically for Formula 1, this could be a massive opportunity to restructure the whole model,” he told Autosport.
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“Maybe it’s an opportunity for all the teams to share revenue on the same amounts.
“Compared to the football Premier League for example: If you look at the amount of money the winner gets compared to the last one it’s nowhere near the difference in money that the top teams receive.
“I’m also hearing of budget caps of $125m, something like that, why not a cost cap of $75m and make it really profitable for everybody?
“It might be a good thing that the Concorde Agreement has not been signed yet because it had all the original things that are kind of a burden for F1, with some teams making so much and some teams so little.
“The imbalance is huge in the Concorde Agreement. Maybe this gives an opportunity to completely shake down the whole system.
“I’m not in F1 or running it, and it is run by very capable people, and I’m sure they are thinking about all these things,” Agag added.
“But I would use this as a major correction of the business principles of F1. So it could be a very interesting opportunity.”
FIA president Jean Todt has similarly noted the chance to make much-needed changes to a model that most agree is unsustainable.
However, he’s also suggested going too far would change F1 “as we know it” and thinks smaller teams are trying to push for something that is unrealistic, a fully equal grid.
“I understand this position, but I do not believe in miracles,” the Frenchman said.
“The differences between the big and smaller teams must be narrowed, but we must not start to dream. It will never be the case that a small team can compete regularly against a large team on an equal footing.
“We must not lie to ourselves. If we are talking about $120, $130 or $140m, that is the cost cap without exceptions, for the big teams, the exemptions make up more than 100 per cent of the cost cap.
“Now, when the budget cap is reduced, they have even expressed the wish to extend the exemptions but I am against it.”