F1 Must Slash Costs, Says Briatore

Formula One could put on just as good a show by spending half the amount of money, according to Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.

"The escalation of the price is completely crazy. I believe the team principals need to sit together and look at 2006, 2007 and 2008," he told a news conference at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday.

"If we are serious, we need to cut the costs dramatically ... we need to cut 50 percent of what we spend and it is possible to do the same show," added the Italian, who guided Benetton to the World Championship in 1995.

"In 1994 we spent less than 50 percent of what we spend now and we had very good races and I think every team had a good race in 1994 and 1995."

The big teams spend most of the winter months testing, doing far more miles at deserted circuits than they do in a season of racing. Fiat-owned Ferrari and Toyota are estimated to have team budgets of well in excess of $300 million a year whereas smaller teams must get by on less than $50 million.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone repeated his view on Friday that the championship should reduce testing to 20 days during the season and expand the race calendar from a record 18 rounds this year to 20. Briatore said he backed Ecclestone's idea.

"With testing we spend money, when we are racing we make money because our business is racing ... the more you test, the more you spend. We need to reduce our budget by 40 to 50 percent and it is possible.

"I still don't understand why we are not sitting together and doing it ... I'm very happy to have 20 races."

Stoddart Pessimistic

Australian Paul Stoddart, boss of hard-up Minardi, was pessimistic about the chances of changing anything.

"The simple fact is that the teams at the top are spending so much," he said. "Whilst the (car) manufacturers have done a great job bringing all these billions of dollars into the sport, eventually at some point I think people have got to stand up and take notice of how much money is being spent.

"We could easily save 50 percent but it's got to be a full commitment and you are just not going to get that from the teams that have the money.

"The teams that have the money will keep spending, spending, spending. If you take it away from them one way, they will find another way to spend it. If you try to put some kind of a ban or limitation on certain things, it will be spent somewhere else.

"It's just how it is. And if you are trying to keep up with them, it's a pretty difficult world."