Formula One’s big hitters have promised their smaller rivals they will not smash them out of the ballpark when it comes to next week’s crucial talks surrounding the sport’s financial future.
Following confirmation earlier this month from FIA president Jean Todt that his plans for a cost cap from next year had been abandoned, four teams – Force India, Sauber, Caterham and Marussia – penned a strongly-worded letter to the Frenchman expressing their outrage.
F1’s Strategy Group – comprising Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams and Lotus – had previously voted for a cap, only to have second thoughts and decide against.
The small teams, however, are desperate for new financial measures to be put in place to curb escalating costs and ensure they can continue to compete.
Without directly threatening legal action, the letter cited European competition law, suggesting an abuse of power by the bigger teams, as well as what they saw as an erosion of governance within the sport.
The upshot is a meeting between all 11 teams, Todt and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone that is to take place on May 1 in the hope a way forward can be found.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insists the smaller teams will not be ignored.
“Absolutely not because at the end of the day we have to have somebody to race against,” said Horner.
“The Strategy Group means there are teams in there who are in the same situation as Force India for example, or worse.
“You’ve got Lotus, whose situation has been fairly dire for the last couple of years, and Williams, who are run on a tight budget.”
Horner, who has long been against a cap as he believes it would be impossible to correctly police, believes the only way for teams to save money is through the sporting and technical regulations.
He added: “The cost cap, at the level that was being discussed, was so far beyond the means of the smaller teams anyway.
“It was almost a 100 per cent increase on the budgets some of them are operating on. How would that help them in any way shape or form?”