Bernie Ecclestone is investigating a revised payment structure for Formula 1 which is aimed to distribute funds more equally among teams.
The Formula 1 boss has hinted his preferred structure could follow that used by football’s English Premier League, where teams receive equal shares of television revenue alongside prize money.
F1 has operated under a system where the top teams earn sizeable bonuses for performances over history.
Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams all receive significant financial benefits from the agreement, which is in place until at least 2020.
Under the current rules Ferrari earns in excess of $90 Million USD ($122 Million AUD) in a special payment for being the only team to have competed since the inaugural season in 1950.
The financial bias towards the powerhouse teams has led to F1’s smaller operations criticising the current system, highlighted by Force India and Sauber’s move to lodge an official complaint to the European Union last year.
Ecclestone says he is now actively seeking alternative options to replace the current payment structure.
However, any changes made before 2020 would require all teams to reject the existing arrangement.
“I told Toto (Wolff, Mercedes boss) not to think about banking any money yet,” Ecclestone told The Times.
“I am going to have a good look at how things work to see if I can come up with something more equal for all the teams.
“The Premier League has a good way of distributing the prize money, so maybe that could work for us.
“There will be people who will like it and people who won’t like it, and people who will suffer.”
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