F1 is in a mess - John Watson

“Formula One has a major problem but the sport is putting its head in the sand,” he said. “Two thirds of the grid are struggling, and barely able to make it to the race. Right now F1 needs to have a good look at itself and decide what it is trying to achieve. The product is in need of a massive kickstart.

“What’s going on? Bernie Ecclestone has done a phenomenal job for [owners] CVC but somebody needs to step in because of the dire state the middle and bottom of the grid is in. You can’t have a race with just four big teams. I’m unhappy with the governance from the FIA.”



Watson says F1’s efforts to cut costs have created problems of their own. “The regulations do not allow you to produce an entirely new engine this year, so the teams have to make the most of their development token. But that means that Mercedes, who have got everything spot on, are now enjoying complete domination. Another problem has been the reduction in testing time, again to cut costs. And this season teams have only four engines instead of five. So no one wants to do mileage because of the meagre engine allowance. Yet these hybrid engines are so complicated that everybody needs track time. Half the problem is bloody procedures. It’s nuts, total nuts.”

Watson, like many people in Formula One, wants CVC to readdress the amount of money it is taking out of a sport with an annual turnover of £1.5bn, while the majority of the teams struggle for survival. “That’s an area that must be revisited to keep the sport worthy of the money people are paying to watch it, either at the track or on TV.”

Formula One’s cost crisis has its roots in the collapse of the Formula One Teams’ Association which was caused by Red Bull, according to Force India’s deputy team principal Bob Fernley.

FOTA was negotiating with Bernie Ecclestone and F1 owners CVC Capital Partners in 2011 for all teams to receive a larger share of F1’s prize money. However according to Fernley it was Red Bull who derailed their efforts by agreeing their own deal separately with Ecclestone.

Fernley said Red Bull’s deal with Ecclestone and departure from FOTA was “where I think the problems started” for F1. Since then two teams have disappeared and a third, Manor, came close to dropping out of F1 over the winter.

“I think that a few years ago we had FOTA operating in a very good way,” said Fernley in a press conference today. “It was a consolidated approach, it was well stewarded by (then McLaren team principal) Martin Whitmarsh, we were in joint negotiations with CVC at the time to obviously renegotiate those contracts and everything else”.

“Unfortunately, and I say that because obviously Christian is here, Red Bull felt the need to take the forty pieces of silver. And that was the downside, I think, for Formula One, and I don’t think we’ve recovered from that particular action.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner denied Fernlet’s claim, saying it was “a little harsh of Bob to suggest that the plight of the smaller teams is all Red Bull’s fault”.

Horner said FOTA was “pretty dysfunctional” at the time and “focusing on the wrong aspect” – and that it was Ferrari who undermined its dealings with Ecclestone.

“Ferrari went and cut their own deal,” he said. “Red Bull weren’t the first team to sign an agreement with Bernie.”

“At the same time McLaren were also in dual discussions and cut their own deal. So that’s the way of the world. We all represent out own entities and guarantees had to be given by the companies in order to be eligible for that funding.