Half of F1 staff on unpaid leave

Like several stables based in the United Kingdom, Formula 1 has requested to benefit from the job protection measures put in place by the British government at the time of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The country's authorities have in fact committed to paying 80% of the salary of employees placed on forced unemployment, up to a maximum of 2 pounds sterling (500 euros) per month.   

CARhebdo has confirmed that 50% of F1 staff have agreed to take unpaid leave over a period of 2 months, while company officials, including Formula One Group CEO Chase Carey, have offered to reduce their salaries by at least 20%. 

Since the takeover of the sport by Liberty Media at the start of 2017, the F1 staff has continued to grow and today brings together some 400 people, distributed between its different departments (marketing, TV, digital, Esports, etc.).  

F1 revenues come from 3 major sources: the packages paid by the 22 promoters of the calendar, the sums paid by the official broadcasters to acquire the rights to the discipline, and the 6 major partners which are DHL, Pirelli, Emirates, Heineken , Rolex, and more recently the Saudi oil company Aramco.

The holder of the commercial rights must then pay part of this money back to the 10 teams in the form of financial rewards, the famous “prize money”. 

Carey, who recently said he wanted to aim for a calendar including between 15 and 18 meetings with a start of the season during the summer, has already assured that the FOM will waive its fees for the canceled races. 

The first 8 races of the 2020 season have already been postponed or canceled. The campaign should in theory be June 14 in Canada, even if the chances are diminishing day by day given the evolution of the pandemic in North America.