F1 director says more spending cuts needed to preserve teams

The managing director of Formula One has said spending cuts will be necessary to prevent the "tragedy" of teams leaving the sport amid the coronavirus.

Ross Brawn added Monday that the cost cap for the 2021 season is set to be cut to $145 million (?117 million) and could be reduced further in subsequent years, with a more even distribution of prize money another measure to help increase the competitiveness of the sport.

A spending cap of $175 million was set to be introduced next year in a bid to help even up the competition.

But, following the outbreak of the global pandemic that has seen the postponement or cancellation of 10 rounds of this year's world championship, talks on reducing the figure have been held with the FIA, motorsport's world governing body.

"There has been a lot of consultation and we are in the final stages," Brawn told Sky Sports.

"We're going to start with a cap of $145 million and then the discussion is how much further down we can drive costs in the next few years.

"There is going to be a much more equitable prize fund in the new agreement. The midfield teams in particular are going to be much better off in terms of their proportion of the prize money.

"So a good midfield team should be able to score podiums, maybe a win, and should be able to show a small profit. If we can achieve that we should have a very sustainable future."
- 'Losing teams would be a tragedy' -
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Nevertheless, Brawn -- a former Ferrari technical director and Mercedes team principal -- said: "It has become very clear, from talking to the management of the teams. The message is clear. We've got to cut costs and have a reduction of the cost cap... If we lose some teams in this period it would be a tragedy."
"We have 10 very good teams in F1 and we want to keep it that way."