Why F1 owners would bail out struggling teams
This file photo taken on October 7, 2017 shows Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen driving during the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Verstappen has signed a contract extension keeping him at Red Bull until 2020, the team announced on October 20, 2017 during practice for the United States Grand Prix. PHOTO | KIYOSHI OTA |
What you need to know:
- The world championship has not yet got underway due to the coronavirus pandemic with nine races either cancelled or postponed
- The French Grand Prix scheduled for June 28 is also in doubt as is the Belgian Grand Prix, set for August 30
LONDON
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes the prospect of losing a struggling team from the Formula One grid would be such an "enormous blow" that the sport's owners would have to launch a financial bailout.
The world championship has not yet got underway due to the coronavirus pandemic with nine races either cancelled or postponed.
The French Grand Prix scheduled for June 28 is also in doubt as is the Belgian Grand Prix, set for August 30.
With TV and advertising revenue drying up, there are fears that the weakest among the 10 teams could go to the wall.
However, Horner believes that F1's owners, Liberty Media, would be forced to act.
"It could be an enormous blow and at that point the promoter has to decide," Horner told The Guardian on Saturday.
"It is their business, they have to decide how do they keep these teams alive because they need teams to go racing.
"The Liberty guys would do whatever they can to ensure that 10 teams are on the grid and competing next year.
"In order to protect their own business, I believe they would help to facilitate, which means paying, to ensure that those teams would be around to compete next year
