Formula 1 Efforts To Save The 'Ecosystem' Amid The COVID-19 Attack

Formula 1 (formula1.com)

JAKARTA - Chief executive of Liberty Media, Formula 1 commercial rights holder, Greg Maffei, revealed that a certain amount of money has been paid to teams that rely heavily on revenue sharing from Formula 1 to survive.

The 2020 racing season has had to be postponed since the COVID-19 crisis swept across the world, with the Australian and Monaco Grand Prix canceled and seven other series suspended.

With the possibility of holding races without spectators when the season could resume, Maffei via video conference told analysts that F1 could have trouble finding profits this year.

"If you hold a race without spectators, we obviously have lower profitability, and maybe without profitability," said Maffei, quoted by Sky Sports, Friday, April 24.

"We may have sufficient capital to handle that in 2020, but there are teams that will incur costs, especially those who do not have minimal guarantees from F1 and their main source of income is revenue sharing with F1."

For that, continued Maffei, they have submitted advance payments for a number of teams.

"There are cases where we can do more than this. There are things we can do to bridge those who need help," Maffei said.

F1 officials want to make sure that the teams can pay their debts because they are part of what is needed to be able to race successfully in 2020, 2021 and beyond.

"That is one of the reasons why we have to think about how we started. It is not only good for us, but also for the ecosystem," said Maffei.