McLaren boss Zak Brown is fuelling the flames beneath the Ferrari versus Liberty Media battle over the jilted prize money distribution that compliments the famous red team.
For the time being, Brown has chimed in on the skewed distribution of prize money for Ferrari and believes that some balance clearly needs to be restored with a more accurate alignment between payout and performance needed.
The McLaren boss told AS:
“I think it was inevitable that there was going to be confrontation between Ferrari and Liberty. Ferrari wants to protect the money that they receive, because they receive a disproportionate amount of money.
“We all recognize that Ferrari as a team has added more value to the sport than anyone else and should be rewarded accordingly, but I think it’s too far out of balance. I think Liberty’s going to need to do what’s best for the sport, because that’s what’s ultimately best for all of us.”
Ferrari will provide Liberty Media with a big test in that this discussion about prize money will determine how much the new owners of F1 will allow themselves to be dictated to by big teams in the sport.
Ferrari has the most successful legacy in F1, and if it were to ever leave, the sport would definitely lose a part of its identity. But it would also recover from this eventually, and Ferrari may be left wondering what other racing format elevates it to the same heights.
The most important thing for Ferrari amidst these issues away from the circuit is to make another race-winning campaign of the upcoming season. We doubt there would be as much noise surrounding the over-payments if it was the team leading both championships and winning often. If Ferrari’s 2018 car can challenge Mercedes and keep Red Bull at a distance, then its navigation in off-track discussions may be seen with more justification and understanding.
