The coronavirus effect doesn't even spare the golden world of Formula 1. The British group McLaren announced the dismissal of 1.200 of its 4 employees. The cut will not only affect the F1 team, but also the road car and technology development divisions.
“We are truly sorry for the impact this restructuring will have on all of our employees,” he said Paul walsh, executive chairman of the McLaren group – We have tried to avoid this, by launching drastic measures to save money in all sectors, but at this point we have no choice but to reduce the size of our workforce ”.
Upstream of the redundancy plan there is the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic, that hit the automotive sector particularly hard across Europe (in recent days McLaren was refused a loan of 150 million pounds by the British government) and also caused the postponement of the Formula1 championship, with multi-million dollar losses for all stables.
But there is also another reason. Last week the Formula 1 teams agreed to reduce the budget limit, which will drop next year from 175 to 145 million dollars, a sum destined to decrease further in the following seasons. This decision will force all the major manufacturers to cut costs, so it cannot be ruled out that other major brands may follow McLaren's path in the future.
"McLaren Racing was among the supporters of the introduction of the new budget cap for Formula 2021 from 1 - Walsh said again - This measure will create a sustainable financial basis for the teams and lead to a more competitive sport".
In 2021 McLaren will be able to count on a new driver: the Australian Daniel Ricciardo, arriving from Renault to replace Carlos Sainz, who will move to Ferrari.
As for the launch of the next models on the market, supercars are expected in the autumn 765LT ed Eleven. They will be entrusted with the task of resolving the McLaren accounts.
