As discussions around the F1 paddock revolve around finances -- "who can afford to compete, host races or pay their drivers" -- F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone claims to be "powerless to intervene," according to Christian Sylt for the London INDEPENDENT. Average annual team budgets have accelerated to a record £150M ($221.2M), sending
two outfits -- Caterham and Marussia -- "into the wall last year and there
are several others at risk of following them." Ecclestone: "What can we do about the teams? Their companies are in the shit because
they spend more than they have got. They can spend less money. It's nothing to do with
us. We can't control people's spending. It's the same in every sport. In what I call the good old days, all it took was having a chat with
the people that had the money, like Colin [Chapman, Lotus founder]. Now
they come along with lawyers and can never agree on anything. ... Now
you get suits with short pockets, not deep ones." Marussia exited administration last month. But "are they financially sound?" Ecclestone: "I don't know whether they have got the money to
race." He is "even less sure about the future of the German Grand Prix, which
will be dropped because of dwindling ticket sales unless there is an
11th-hour rescue." Ecclestone said, "The German Grand Prix is dead at the moment." Although the sport's 10 teams were paid a record £484M in prize money
last year, the three top performers -- Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull
Racing -- took 46% of it. He said, "Yes, absolutely I would be happy to change the prize-money distribution
if everyone agreed to it but it's not going to happen. It
isn't fair that the top teams get so much. Lots of things are not fair
in this world, though" (INDEPENDENT, 3/13).
WOLFF CALLS OUT HORNER: The BBC's Andrew Benson reported Mercedes F1 Exec Dir Toto Wolff has accused Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner of "moaning" after Horner called for F1 to equalize engines. Red Bull, which uses Renault engines, had a "poor weekend at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix." Wolff's team "took a one-two with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Australia." He said that Red Bull and engine supplier Renault should "get their heads down and work hard and sort it out" (BBC, 3/15).
