According to an article published on Sunday by the German publication, Der Spiegel, several Formula 1 teams are expriencing serious financial difficulties due to a drop in sponsorship revenue.
Der Spiegel claims that Lotus F1 Team, owned by Luxemburg financial investor Genii of Gerard Lopez, “has tens of millions of euros” in debt.
In an interview with Germany's Welt newspaper, published in November 2012, Lopez laid out many of F1's problems, including the scarcity of sponsors.
"We certainly want to stay in F1," Lopez said.
"Our involvement in F1 is only possible if the numbers add up. At the moment, they do. But if that is no longer the case, then we would have to think like business people and ask ourselves the question: 'Is this still interesting for us, or not?'” Lopez added.
The situation forced several teams to hire “pay drivers;” drivers who bring several millions of dollars in sponsorship.
Drivers who arrive with sponsorship money this season include Max Chilton (with insurance company Aon), Esteban Gutiérrez (Telmex) and Pastor Maldonado (PDVSA).
Der Spiegel writes that the Venezuelan, state-owned oil company PDVSA is giving team Williams $189 million euros over a 5-year period to get Maldonado into one of their cars.
The magazine concludes by saying that only four of the 11 F1 teams are financially healthy: Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes AMG are free of financial problems.
Der Spiegel claims that Lotus F1 Team, owned by Luxemburg financial investor Genii of Gerard Lopez, “has tens of millions of euros” in debt.
In an interview with Germany's Welt newspaper, published in November 2012, Lopez laid out many of F1's problems, including the scarcity of sponsors.
"We certainly want to stay in F1," Lopez said.
"Our involvement in F1 is only possible if the numbers add up. At the moment, they do. But if that is no longer the case, then we would have to think like business people and ask ourselves the question: 'Is this still interesting for us, or not?'” Lopez added.
The situation forced several teams to hire “pay drivers;” drivers who bring several millions of dollars in sponsorship.
Drivers who arrive with sponsorship money this season include Max Chilton (with insurance company Aon), Esteban Gutiérrez (Telmex) and Pastor Maldonado (PDVSA).
Der Spiegel writes that the Venezuelan, state-owned oil company PDVSA is giving team Williams $189 million euros over a 5-year period to get Maldonado into one of their cars.
The magazine concludes by saying that only four of the 11 F1 teams are financially healthy: Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes AMG are free of financial problems.
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| The 24 single-seaters at the start of the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, in Barcelona. (Photo: WRi2) |