Kevin Magnussen says he will not continue in Formula 1 if teams turn to drivers with financial backing as they try to recover from the coronavirus.
Currently, F1 bosses, teams and the FIA are trying to put together a range of measures to reduce costs, as the sport deals with a huge loss of revenue from postponed races as a result of Covid-19.
Some already approved include delaying the new 2021 cars by at least one year while limiting the development of the current designs. There is also a battle continuing over just how much F1 should cut their new budget cap, with McLaren and Ferrari clashing of the final figure.
At the same time, F1 owners Liberty Media have also already advanced payments to help some teams. But with income set to be reduced for some time as events behind closed doors appear likely for the foreseeable future, there are questions over how long the company can sustain doing that.
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Therefore, with many seats up for grabs from 2021, it is possible those teams most under financial pressure, such as his Magnussen’s own Haas squad, could look to so-called pay drivers to boost their income.
“If you have to pay for the seats, I’m no longer there because I both cannot and will not raise the necessary funds,” he told Danish newspaper BT.
F1 has been here before too, with smaller teams often reserving at least one seat for the highest bidder in the wake of the last economic downturn in 2008.
But at a time when the level of talent on the grid is so high, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.