F1’s ‘Minnow’ Teams Could Be Handed $160M Windfall To Prevent Boycott

F1's "three minnow teams could be handed" a $160M windfall to "prevent another threat of a boycott," according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES. Force India, Lotus and Sauber "turned the screw on F1's rulers last weekend by threatening to pull out of the showpiece United States Grand Prix in protest at what they see as an unequal payments system that unfairly hands millions of pounds to the biggest teams in the sport."

A "frantic series of meetings before the start of the race resulted in a phone call" from F1 majority shareholder CVC Capital Chair Donald Mackenzie to Lotus Chair Gerard Lopez. Mackenzie "pleaded with Lopez to call off the action in return for a compromise settlement that seems likely to include a series of payments directly from CVC's funds."

McKenzie's call came after F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "admitted he had no idea how to solve the sport's financial crisis."

Lopez: "I know CVC and Bernie have been looking at this but it is going to be a base payment given to the smaller teams, the racers, which is essentially going to make it possible for a normal budget to be pretty much closed here. To be honest, it is really not a complicated thing to do. It just requires a bit of goodwill. There is a way to build a proposal in the next couple of days." LONDON TIMES