Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Formula 1 has not proposed a ban on teams using their motorhomes at European races, despite managing director Ross Brawn’s suggestion they could.
Brawn floated the idea in February as a means of reducing teams’ costs and environmental impact. Dozens of trucks are sent around Europe by teams to construct the vast facilities which are constructed in the paddock.Red Bull has a combined double motorhome for its team and sister outfit AlphaTauri. Horner told RaceFans in an exclusive interview the proposed new commercial agreement with F1 will not prevent them using similar facilities in future.
“It’s within it all the drafts that have come through from FOM [Formula 1 Management],” said Horner. “There’s no change to the European motorhomes.”
Brawn pointed out teams already use pre-fabricated facilities instead of motorhomes at non-European races. Other team principals have supported using similar arrangements for European races.
“The reality is, we work out of temporary facilities more often than not, and we adapt quite well,” said McLaren team principal Zak Brown. “The Singapores, the Mexicos, the Abu Dhabis, the Bahrains all have very nice facilities. China, et cetera… So I think it’s something that we would probably be supportive of.”
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Other aspects of the negotiations over a future commercial deal were progressing well at the time the global pandemic began to disrupt the start of the season, said Horner.
“There’s some details that need to be ironed out,” he said. “I don’t think they are insurmountable. It depends on the willingness on both sides to want to concluded a deal. The type of things, if you go around the table probably within a couple of weeks, you could have it sorted.”
“I don’t think there’s any major sticking points. Inevitably, the teams want more money, the promoter wants to pay less.”
As well as the commercial side of the negotiations, F1 and the teams are also discussing changes to how the sport is run.
“The governance is more or less accepted,” said Horner. “I think there’s a bit of tidying up some of the things like effectively the rider that you would have turning up to do an event. We shouldn’t be paying for facilities at international flyways as well as the performers it seems wrong that we’re paying for hospitality, tents and tables and chairs and forklift trucks.”
“So it’s mopping up some of those details. But I think we’re into the detail rather than the fundamentals.”
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BasCB (@bascb)
25th March 2020, 7:27
Congratulations mr. Horner on winning this “battle” to keep the lavish “motorhomes”. All in all, it is a pretty minor point, and I think it was one Liberty/Brawn were willing to give up pretty easily in the overall picture.
Robbie (@robbie)
25th March 2020, 13:58
@bascb Not sure how Horner has won a battle here. Is it because they interviewed him, and he gave an answer, and therefore he is at the forefront of some imagined fight to retain fancy motorhomes?
Rather, this was simply Brawn brainstorming on ways that perhaps F1 could look at in it’s efforts to become more environmentally friendly and conscious, and to save costs at the same time. I know I certainly never had the impression it was anything more than just Brawn thinking out loud on a low priority thing but one that could indeed undeniably save the environment some wear and tear and the teams some money at the same time. Teams don’t want to do that? No biggy. Doesn’t mean they should stop considering ways to save money and look after the environment in better ways than they have. Doesn’t make Brawn a bad person, nor Horner victorious. I don’t think this concept had gotten even remotely near a point, nor ever was, where motorhomes were going to be legislated out.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
25th March 2020, 14:30
@robbie – It might have been a low priority earlier, but ironically, if we get any racing done this year in Europe as part of a shortened race weekend, teams might very well elect to forgo the motorhomes to save on build-up and tear-down effort (not to mention some inevitable tightening of the purse strings that is bound to occur). At the most, teams might elect to put one up for their home GP(s) to host their dignitaries. If such an eventuality arises, they will get a good feel of how it is to do without a motorhome, and even if it is a small-ticket item for the future, dispensing with motorhomes might very well find much wider support, or might even be done voluntarily by cash-strapped teams.
Steve (@)
25th March 2020, 20:22
is it really a low priority thing to cart tons and tons of corporate ego inflating buildings around Europe when F1 is going to need all the friends it can make in the Eco-aware future. In the 1990s a truck and a tent seemed to be just fine and it makes absolutely no difference to the racing does it.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th March 2020, 15:00
I guess my comment could have been clearer there @robbie. Horner seems to be happy that this idea was not put into the proposals, when as you say, it seemed more of one of many ideas Brawn put up brainstorming about various things that might lower cost they could discuss with teams.
I do think that @phylyp could very well be right about teams not being too eager to bring out all of the new equipment again this season. Or maybe use them just for part of the races and re-use them next year if at all.
Islander
25th March 2020, 7:52
All F1 motorhomes should now be turned into field hospitals to aid the corona effort. Starting with RB and Merc. [Oops, another potshot at Lewis…]
Mobius Clean (@mobiusclean)
25th March 2020, 8:35
Someone correct me if i missed something but why ban something that teams already own and therefore don’t have to spend much cash on?
ColdFly (@)
25th March 2020, 8:56
They typically commission a new one every season, @mobiusclean.
I don’t think the old ones will be worth a lot, except for its parts.
Thinking about it. Why don’t the big spenders (Ferrari/Merc/RBR/McLaren) sell their old ‘mobile homes’ to the smaller teams like Williams/Racing Point/Haas/Alfa Romeo?
With just a lick of paint they can make them their own and ‘live cheap’ for a year.
Mobius Clean (@mobiusclean)
26th March 2020, 6:04
@coldfly Thanks mate :)
Robbie (@robbie)
25th March 2020, 14:03
@mobiusclean You’re missing the point which was to diminish costs and harm to the environment by not having to traipse big fancy motorhomes all over Europe via transport trucks galore. And as per @coldfly to not have to keep building new ones too. That they already own them is not the point at all.
Steve (@)
25th March 2020, 20:25
The dinosaurs got bigger and bigger and bigger and then suddenly they went in a single moment of asteroid-crisis when the climate changed.
Chris
25th March 2020, 11:08
‘Thank god I kept my motorhome while the rest of the world descended in a global pandemic of death’ … F1 managers show how out of touch they are again. JEEEEZ!
Robbie (@robbie)
26th March 2020, 14:44
Sounds like you’re the one out of touch.