Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert said that the F1's biggest teams "should not be allowed to bully the sport's new owners into financial arrangements that hurt the smaller squads," according to Giles Richards of the London GUARDIAN. The 52-year-old Englishman, who drove for seven F1 teams, said that the "crucial issue facing Liberty Media was the distribution of payments across the teams." His comments came after Manor went into administration, becoming the third team to drop out of F1 since '12. Herbert said that Liberty must "stand up to any threats by the bigger teams to leave in order to ensure the smaller squads' survival and ability to compete." Herbert added, "The smaller teams in many regards are more important than the bigger teams. They are the heart and soul of the sport." The distribution of payments is "weighted heavily in favour" of teams such as Ferrari, which received an extra $105M above its performance fee in '15. Liberty President Greg Maffei "already suggested Ferrari's bonus payments could be addressed for redistribution" but the agreement with the teams is set to run until '20. Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne warned that even bringing up a discussion of changes would be "unwise" and has already requested clarification of the plans for the sport beyond '20 (GUARDIAN, 2/7).
