F1 must stop wasting money, says Mosley

Max Mosley has called for “radical measures” to drag Formula One out of its current crisis.

Ford’s decision to sell both the Jaguar team and engine supplier Cosworth has raised the prospect of 30% of Formula One’s grid being wiped out.

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One’s commercial rights holder, wants top teams to run three cars in grands prix, rather than the current two, to ensure full grids.

But Mosley, president of world governing body the FIA, believes that is an ill-conceived “short-term” measure which will not solve the deep-rooted problems the sport faces.

With several manufacturers pumping millions into the sport, Mosley admits “expenditure has exceeded the income” and widespread change is needed fast.

Mosley, at the Shanghai International Circuit for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, said: “It’s potentially a very serious situation and of course it’s one that we’ve been doing our utmost to prevent for more than two years.

“The difficulty is that the costs are far too high and unless something is done about this we are bound to lose teams because they cannot get an income great enough to cover their costs – it’s that simple.

“What’s needed are radical measures. There is no doubt that Formula One as a whole could run for less than half and probably closer to a quarter of what it current costs without anything being visible from the outside, without any obvious change in the way it works.

“In other ways most of the money that’s been spent is being wasted. The top teams can afford to do that but the people at the other end of the grid cannot.”

Mosley feels any move to push top teams into running three cars – which they are contractually bound to do should any smaller teams fall by the wayside - could spell disaster for the sport.

He feels that option would cost too much money and the threat of it will be enough to prompt a more palatable solution to Formula One’s current difficulties.

“I think everybody’s going to sit down very carefully and decide what they will do. It may be the manufacturers themselves realise they are putting too much money in, spending money in the wrong ways, encouraging the teams to do that and actually destroying the business.

“It’s like giving too much money to a child, it seems nice at the time but it can do damage.”