Whitmarsh: F1 teams are suffering from the crisis

The economic crisis is still rife in motorsport and F1 is not spared. HRT F1 Team closed its doors at the end of the 2012 season, leaving the paddock with 11 teams, and the presence of paying drivers continues to grow on the Grand Prix starting grids. At a time when the renewal of the Concorde Agreements is slow to be finalized, Martin Whitmarsh is stepping up to defend the economic interests of the teams. “It's hard, we're in a world driven by advertising...you just have to look at how global this phenomenon is. We have taken measures but I think it will be difficult for some”, commented the Team Principal of McLaren on BBC Sport.

Martin Whitmarsh can only note the inequitable sharing of F1 resources between the teams and the FOM masterfully managed by Bernie Ecclestone. The director of McLaren F1 Team believes that it is up to the teams to react to find more profits. “Bernie has done a fantastic job for the rights owners. We can criticize him but he does a better job of protecting their money than us. These funds are leaving the discipline and that is very frustrating for some of us, but that is exactly what it should be trying to do. If the teams fail to work together to secure better shares, they only have themselves to blame. »