Formula 1 managing director Ross Brawn admitted that Scuderia Ferrari has recognised the sport will struggle to attract new entrants while its current prize money structure remains in place as talks continue to draw up fresh commercial agreements for 2021. F1 officials have been pushing to introduce a more equitable distribution of prize money to teams upon the expiration of the current commercial agreement at the end of 2020, with Ferrari’s long-standing bonus for racing under particular scrutiny.
Speaking to The Guardian, F1 managing director Brawn stressed the need for a fairer division of prize money throughout the grid, and said any nods to Ferrari’s contribution to the sport could not take total precedence.
“There is too much disparity between the top two or three teams and the rest of the grid. You have a group of teams that could finish last and still earn more than the team that has won the world championship,” said Brawn – “We have to recognise the importance and history of Ferrari and the unique place it has in the sport but we also have to find a balance between that recognition and an equitable position for the rest. We know that the ones that have got it all want to keep it and the ones that haven’t got it want more. It’s finding a fair balance in how we distribute the revenue. We know that if we have a more equitable distribution of revenue we will have a better F1.”
Ross Brawn said Ferrari openly recognised that it would be difficult to convince new teams or manufacturers to join the grid so long as the current commercial arrangements were in place: “You are never going to attract new teams when you have such unfair distribution. Ferrari recognise that,” Brawn said – “They will fight tooth and nail for the best they can, but logic will have a fair part in trying to find a solution.”
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