F1 | Budget cap, Ferrari ready to consider saying goodbye to Formula One

What we've been living through has been weeks full immersion for Formula One, busy between compiling the new 2020 calendar and negotiations for the reduction of the budget cap currently set at 175 million dollars for 2021. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, interviewed in recent hours by the Guardian, it was clear: the Cavallino team will not accept going below the 145 million threshold, otherwise they might even consider saying goodbye to the Circus.

The idea, which will continue to be developed in the next meetings between FIA Liberty Media and the team, would be to set the economic ceiling at 145 million for 2021 even if the smaller teams would like to further reduce this figure.

"The $145 million level is already a new and demanding request compared to what was established last June – declared Binotto -. It cannot be achieved without further significant sacrifices, especially in terms of human resources. If it were to drop even further, we would not want to be put in the position of having to look at other options in order to deploy our racing DNA".

Binotto then added: “In F1 we ​​have teams with different characteristics. They operate in different countries, under different regulations and with their own ways of working. Therefore it is not simple and straightforward to make structural changes by simply cutting costs in a linear way. We are well aware that F1 and the whole world are going through a particularly difficult time right now due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this is not the time to react quickly, because there is a risk of making decisions at the end of this emergency without clearly evaluating all the consequences. We must not forget that companies play a role in the social fabric of a nation. They are not just there to make a profit".

The Italian-Swiss engineer then wanted to underline that Ferrari is ready to support the smaller teams if, once the pandemic is over, they need particular help: "If the current emergency really called into question the existence of some of our competitors in this sport and made it necessary to review some principles, then Ferrari would be open to this. It is not sacrilegious, given that it has happened previously in F1 and happens today in series like MotoGP".