Indian business magnate Vijay Mallya accused some of F1’s biggest teams "of selfishly refusing to ensure the survival of the seven squads in the sport under financial pressure," according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES. The co-owner and team principal of Force India warned that F1 must "get around the negotiating table fast to prevent the weakest teams going to the wall." Mallya spoke after the Times story claiming that F1 faces a massive $2B escalation in costs over the next seven years. New figures show that Lotus recorded a record £56M ($84M) loss last year, despite driver Kimi Raikkonen finishing third in the World Championship and a fourth-place finish among constructors. Although not named by Mallya, it is thought that "his resentment is directed at Red Bull and Ferrari, who have both consistently refused to accept spending controls." Mallya: “Rather than reducing costs, one or two teams have decided winning at any cost is more important than the sustainability of the sport, so there is no resource restriction that is implemented, quite contrary to the fact that costs are going up. If you only want three or four teams in Formula One running three cars each, you should proceed in the way it is now" (LONDON TIMES, 5/29).
