New cost saving measures a 'crucially important moment' for F1 - Brown

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has hailed the new cost saving measures that were signed off by the Wolrd Motor Sport Council on Tuesday.

The new regulations aim to create a more sustainable business model for F1 teams, as a budget cap will be introduced along with new testing restrictions for higher placed championship outfits.

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Brown says that confirming the new rules were necessary in order to ensure no teams went out of business in the near future.

“Formula 1 wins today,” Brown said. “This is a crucially important moment for our sport. F1 has been financially unsustainable for some time, and inaction would have risked the future of F1 and its participants, who are to be commended for resolving this issue collectively and determinedly.

“A uniform budget cap, in concert with more even distribution of revenue among the teams, will ensure greater competition and more people wanting to watch live and on TV, driving more sustained revenues to underpin the long-term financial health of the teams and the sport. Ultimately the fans win, and if the fans win, the whole sport wins too.”

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McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl added that the Woking-based squad is also in support of the new direction regarding aerodynamic testing.

“While McLaren supports the cost-saving measures in general, we are pleased with the compromise to provide teams with enough aero freedom to retain the competitive element that is core to Formula 1 throughout 2020 and 2021, until the new technical regulations kick in for 2022,” he said.

“It has been clear to everyone for some time that a budget cap would be applied and we pushed for a lower limit to support a financially sustainable sport. It is a big challenge ahead of us.”

However, the new budget cap means that many larger teams will be forced to lay off staff in order to meet the required spending limit set out by the FIA. 

Seidl said: “Adjusting the way we work and right-sizing the team to this new cap over the next months is a massive and painful task and, highlighted by our news earlier this week, will sadly mean losing team members, but our aim is to be the best-sized and most efficient team in the future.”