Max Mosley has refused to apologise after independent F1 engine maker Cosworth announced that up to 40 per cent of its Northampton workforce will be cut at the end of 2006.
While formula one’s governing body, the FIA, designed its impending engine ‘freeze’ principally to cut costs for smaller outfits, the first notable side effect is that around 150 current Cosworth workers now face redundancy.
But Mosley, the FIA president, is quoted by the Independent as saying: ”There are bound to be redundancies.”
There is no sign, however, that similar job losses will occur at the bigger engine makers, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Renault, Toyota or Honda.
Nonetheless, the British newspaper estimated employment income at around 30 per cent of most F1 budgets, with Mosley therefore hoping to radically slash the cost of running a small team.
He added: ”The target is to set the budget for a top team, which is currently spending €300m (US$384m), to €100m (US$128m), and then a small team could be competitive with €40m (US$51m) or €50m (US$64m).”
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