Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has criticised Ferrari boss Marco Mattiacci following comments he made about Formula 1’s smaller teams.
The Italian commented that F1 doesn’t need struggling outfits and that he had little sympathy for those that don’t have viable business models which allow them to compete financially.
Kaltenborn dismissed the comments and believes Ferrari’s business model would suffer if the smaller outfits were lost, particularly as Sauber pay Ferrari millions per season for engines.
“Wasn’t it Marco who also said that he’s getting questions on ROI [return on investment] from his partners? How does he plan to keep that going so well with the way things are going here?
“What if his partners – who are probably paying a lot – come and say ‘What’s my return on investment with results? What’s my return on investment with viewers going down, with the show not being attractive?’
“So I wonder if his business model is going to work if he didn’t have the backing of those kind of partners or a manufacturer,” she said.
“Because I think if the manufacturer wouldn’t put that money in there, you would have a business model that is defunct. And I know what I’m talking about.”
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