FOM talks to teams about sprint races, but money remains an issue

Formula 1 has put a lot of effort into a plan for sprint races for the future of the sport. This season the teams have already experimented a few times but they are not convinced yet of the added value. Stefano Domenicali will discuss the matter with the teams on Saturday in Bahrain.

However, Christian Horner doesn't think much is going to change about the teams' position if Liberty Media doesn't come up with significant compensation. After all, the extra races will be quite a financial blow to most teams, and that doesn't just apply to those at the back of the field.

"We accept that cash in for this, that what’s been proposed, doesn’t match cash out at the moment,” Horner is quoted by Autosport.com. "So effectively it’s an investment by the teams into FOM to say: ‘OK, we support this in the hope that if it works it generates future revenue, future interest, future benefit into the sport in future years."

It sounds like an endeavour in which the teams would be willing to invest and top teams like Red Bull Racing have plenty of money, you would think. However, the budget cap means that these teams are now short of cash and painful decisions have to be made to meet the limit. Savings of a few tens of thousands of euros are already being taken into account according to Horner. He, therefore, pleads for leniency from the FOM.