FIA president Jean Todt says his proposal for an engine cost cap was not unreasonable and he is disappointed Ferrari opted to veto his plans.
The FIA hoped to introduce a cost cap to reduce the engine bills for non-manufacturer teams, which have proved financially crippling for some outfits since the introduction of new engine regulations in 2014. An engine and gearbox deal currently costs customers somewhere in the region of €20 million a year and Todt was hoping to enforce a new regulation that reduced the bill to €12 million.
"I consider €12 million, which is still quite a lot of money, an acceptable amount," said Todt. "I am not responsible for following the budgets of the manufacturers and their expenses, but I think it is not a provocative figure, I think it is a fair figure."
The proposal was rejected by Ferrari -- the only team in F1 that holds a veto over future regulations -- with the Italian team arguing that it should not have the cost of its product dictated by the sport's governing body. The FIA reacted by adopting Bernie Ecclestone's proposal to introduce a budget engine costing €6-7 million by 2017 and has warned Ferrari not to exercise its veto again.
"It was a disappointment that Ferrari decided to use its veto right on the price of limitation, so we have been trying to see what could be an option," Todt said. "A veto is like having a gun in the pocket, so you must be careful how you use it. Power is something very interesting, because you have different levels of powers. Here we are talking about sporting powers that are given at a higher level. So when you have power you must be very careful how you use it"
Todt's concern is for F1's smaller teams, which earn less money from Formula One's central pot of prize money. Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams and McLaren all receive bonus payments from the sport's commercial rights holders that are justified either by the team's recent success or historical standing in F1. The other five teams are only eligible for prize money based on their finishing position in the constructors' championship and earn significantly less as a result.
Todt says the FIA cannot change the commercial deals the teams have agreed with Bernie Ecclestone, but he is determined to focus on reducing costs for smaller teams.
"If we are not able to get this [cost cap] solution, we need to find another solution because otherwise the risk is that teams go bankrupt," he added. "That is the information I get. It starts with a completely unbalanced distribution of the revenues and here we cannot do anything. I would hope that the teams will get access to the best revenues and will be able to pay an affordable price for the engines as customers."