F1 must react to European crisis

Jun.13 (GMM) F1 must acknowledge Europe's financial crisis and cut costs urgently.

Luca di Montezemolo, Scuderia Ferrari, FIAT Chairman and President of Ferrari

Photo by: xpb.cc

That is the call of Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari, the largest of the four Formula One teams that are headquartered in Europe outside of the UK.

There is talk of the need for a sovereign bail-out in Italy, hot on the heels of Ferrari sponsor and Spanish bank Santander's long-term credit rating downgrade.

"The world economic situation and that of Europe in particular is very serious and the world of Formula One cannot ignore the fact," Montezemolo said.

"We cannot lose any more time -- we need to tackle urgently and with determination the question of costs.

"Ferrari is in agreement with the FIA's position that drastic intervention is required," he added.

Montezemolo's comments coincide with the expiry of the current Concorde Agreement, and suggestions that some teams are pushing hard for the FIA to police a mandatory budget cap.

Speaking with Spain's AS newspaper, former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari answered "limited budgets" when asked what he would impose if he was in charge of the sport.

"And I would put further conditions on testing in the wind tunnels," he added.

"In F1, the drivers are absolutely dependent on aerodynamics and some (teams) invest EUR 300 million in this area.

"I would also set five points in one year in which a team can introduce new specifications," said Alguersuari.