Marchionne says F1 budget cap won't work

A recent report by British newspaper The Telegraph said Liberty wanted to explore budget cap plans as a means of closing up the performance gaps in the championship.

Teams like Ferrari and Red Bull had threatened to quit the sport over plans to introduce a £40 million cap back in 2009.

While Marchionne says he accepts F1 should work to reduce costs, he reckons a budget cap will never work.

"The interventions there have been up to now, from limitations on the cost of supplying power units to the reduction of wind-tunnel hours, have been totally ineffective," said Marchionne.

"The reality is Formula 1 is an extremely expensive sport. There are factory teams from Renault and Mercedes, big companies that can concentrate on development in a broader way, and this for costs becomes very dangerous.

"I accept the goal of reducing costs, but much depends on us and how we adapt to these demands. But I don't believe a budget cap can work.

"The problem is that with the restrictions, we will end up working in very limited areas to make the car competitive."

Marchionne added that Ferrari, historically one of F1's biggest spenders, has saved no money as a result of recent initiatives designed to reduce costs. 

"When I look at old reports of what we have spent in the last 10 years, and even further back, I deduce that Ferrari has never held back when it comes to spending," he said.

"Then if the budget is used well or badly, I don't know. Despite all these interventions by the FIA to try and limit spending, they [the teams] have found other ways to spend.

"This is the old problem for all those who try and impose limits on car development: if areas are left open, spending concentrates in this area. If I look at the last four of five years, we haven't saved a euro.

"We have simply redistributed our spending to other areas. In principle it's very noble, but then the effect never gives the necessary results."

Additional reporting by Roberto Chinchero