To add a third car would take at least six months according to McLaren’s Eric Boullier and therefore it might already be too late to implement should Bernie Ecclestone get his way.
The 83-year-old has hinted at the idea for several years, but only last weekend took a major step forward in consulting the teams on the matter and telling the media that within the next two or three races a final decision would be made.
That won’t come in time according to Boullier who notes the logistical challenge of not only building but operating a third car.
“Hiring the driver is the easiest to get on board,” he said. “However, to build the chassis, sort the logistics and to get the people around, we would need at least six months’ notice.”
Force India’s Vijay Mallya also expressed concern over the cost of an additional car after Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff predicted it could cost an additional £26 million.
“We are going to demand compensation to build a third car, we’re not going to do it for free,” said Mallya.
“I’m sure the commercial rights holder realises that – he’s got to make it economically viable. This year you see both Mercedes ahead of everybody else and in the last few years we had Red Bulls in front of everyone else. So now you want the entire podium to be occupied by one team. It doesn’t make too much sense does it?”
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