Schumacher: Inflexible Ferrari 'should leave F1'
Ferrari should leave Formula 1 if it is not willing to drastically reduce costs amid the corona crisis.
That is the view not only of McLaren's Zak Brown, but of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher.
Team boss Mattia Binotto made comments last week that were interpreted as a threat by Ferrari that it may quit Formula 1 if the budget cap is dropped below $145 million for 2021.
But Schumacher says $145 million is way too high in the circumstances, and says Ferrari's position is "boring and annoying".
"We all have an uncertain future ahead of us," he insisted. "Even the big teams will now be questioning everything.
"Formula 1 is far too expensive at the moment. If Ferrari is not willing to cut costs, they should go."
Schumacher told Sky Germany that F1's headline budget cap number for the future should actually be "well below $100 million".
He said that when he debuted for Jordan in 1997, the team only had $40 million to spend but "it worked and it was entertaining".
Schumacher also commented on rumours that Sebastian Vettel could leave Ferrari and possibly keep his career alive by switching to a team like McLaren.
"You have to ask honestly, what other alternatives does he have?" said the 44-year-old. "Unless he swaps the cockpit with Lewis Hamilton, I don't see how he can get another car that he can win races in."
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WOW someone who says it as it is, F1 will not miss Ferrari any more than another team, life will go on and maybe get better without them .
Oldwit, I have to disagree here. We need Ferrari to kick around. Every story needs a villian.
See my earlier comments. F1 DOESN'T need Ferrari. I've followed F1 for five decades and loed the 70's and 80's the best - enjoyed all of Ferrari's against the odds wins such as Gilles Villeneuve, Patrick Tambay, Rene Arnoux, Gerhard Berger etc and heroics from the likes of Lauda, Mansell and Raikkonen but I would not be sorry if they threw their toys out of the pram and quit. F1 CAN survive without Ferrari, even if we lose Monza because of them quitting. F1 does NOT revolve solely around Ferrari and Monza, even if they both represent a glorious part of F1 history.
Thats why we have Shamilton the whining and crying baby. Daddy Mafia will do everything for her
IF Ferrari leave, they will almost certainly rejoin as one of their other brands. They sponsor the Alfa Romeo team (formerly Sauber) and would probably just rebadge as Fiat or Lancia. It always seemed insane that they use the Ferrari brand these days anyway, their presence in F1 doesn't do much for road car sales, but the Fiat badge could certainly gain a lot from being in F1.
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