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Teams' cost-cutting plans 'a joke' - Todt
FIA president Jean Todt has branded the cost-cutting plans put forward by Formula One's teams "a joke".
Following the F1's Strategy Group's decision to veto the proposed cost cap, Todt asked all the teams to come up with cost-cutting suggestions of their own at a crisis meeting on May 1. Among the measures already put forward for the next three years includes a tyre-warmer ban, the return of active suspension and more standard parts.
While the bigger teams are in favour of a slow cut back in spending, Todt is convinced F1 needs to embrace a much larger spending cut to ensure the survival of its smallest teams.
"My advice was make a contribution as to how we reduce the costs," Todt said. "We know they have budgets of between $100 and $400 million, and the proposal they seem happy with is to reduce by $2 million, which is ridiculous.
"When we speak about costs we are talking about reducing them by 30-40%, and then we can feel comfortable. I have some ideas, some input. Now I want to see what the teams say.We will meet all of the people again. Hopefully they are sensible people and they come up with some sensible suggestions. But what was proposed was a joke."
Todt believes trimming staff numbers could be one possible solution; Mercedes are understood to have 1,250 people on their programme; Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren around 700-900, whilst Marussia have just 200.
"We have too many people in a team. I was in Pau the other day attending a gala dinner and I saw a movie with Fangio, Nuvolari, Jim Clark and Jack Brabham, and there were maybe 10 people in a team. Times change, we must accept that, but between having 800 to 1000 people or 30, there has to be a proper balance. What costs money are people. It is big.
"Then we have the number of developments that are made, the number of parts. This is what we are assessing."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
