Caterham team owner Tony Fernandes has warned that Formula 1 risks being plunged into a crisis in which just a small handful of teams might survive.
The Malaysian businessman believes the financial woes which plague over half the grid could finally bite and see just five or so teams left on the grid if something isn’t done about rising costs.
Red Bull reportedly spends around £180 million ($295m, €215m) per season whilst the smaller teams such as Caterham and Marussia work off budgets less half the size, around £65 million ($110m, €80m).
Costs are again expected to rise in 2014 with the new power units, but a cost cap will be introduced in 2015 – though the details remain sketchy.
Fernandes warns the FIA must take a tough approach if the sport is to continue with the current number of outfits.
When asked if he thought there was a ‘cost crisis’, he replied: “I don’t think there is one. There is one,” he told Reuters.
“You hear about people not having been paid, suppliers taking a long time to be paid. These are certainly not happy days.
“At the end of the day there may be only five F1 teams left if it carries on the way it is.”
