The farcical situation that played out in the Victorian Supreme Court this week over who will drive for the Sauber F1 team at the Australian Grand Prix highlights the deep financial crisis Formula One is in heading into the 2015 season.
Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde took the Swiss team to court in order to gain back his place in the team, after being ousted by pay drivers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.
Essentially, this is three-way fight to buy a place on the Formula One grid. All three drivers bring with them substantial funding, which keeps the likes of Sauber F1 in business.
The depth of Formula One’s cash crisis is a great concern as the 2015 season gets underway at Albert Park this weekend. Sauber F1, Lotus and Force India appear to be at breaking point, while Marussia/Manor has miraculously returned after fighting off bankruptcy/closure.
That leaves just Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Red Bull’s two teams as operating at a level required to be competitive, without the need to rely so heavily on pay drivers.
This isn’t a sustainable position to be in for the sport. And last season, which saw two teams fail to compete in grands prix under the weight of crippling debts, proved yet again the financial model of the series is broken.
With most of the $1.5 to $1.8 billion annual revenue the sport generates leaving the sport into the hands of outside interests, smaller teams miss out on a dividend that could cover their operating costs.
The majority of the revenue that goes to teams is directed towards the most successful, creating a massive divide between the ‘haves and have nots’ that threatens the very existence of the smaller teams.
In turn, sponsors are attracted to the bigger teams who can hire the best drivers and claim the better results, leaving the smaller teams relying so heavily on pay drivers and spiralling towards the depths.
One look at the 2015 Sauber F1 car shows how the smaller teams are struggling to attract sponsors. The blue-chip brands have either left the sport or have funnelled towards the race-winning teams, leaving the Saubers to rely on drivers with their own backing.
But this is an unsustainable model and will be the slow death of these teams. While fans look to the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and the new-look McLaren Honda package to take it to the dominant Mercedes-Benz at the front of the field, there will be an even fiercer race to survive for the smaller teams.
If the likes of Sauber F1, Force India and Lotus cannot survive the season, then Formula One will have to accept its flawed financial model needs changing or force the bigger teams to run three cars, in a move that would have long-term, potentially damaging consequences.
Judging by the pre-season shenanigans at Sauber F1, the battle for survival of the smaller teams looks set to overshadow another Formula One season.
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