Smaller teams write to Bernie

Bernie Ecclestone has been warned that the issue over finances won’t go away with three of the smaller teams confirming they want to hold another meeting with the F1 supremo.

The demise of Caterham and Marussia in recent months have raised a lot of questions about how the revenues in the sport are being distributed and the likes of Force India, Lotus and Sauber want a bigger share of the pie.

The three teams reportedly threatened to boycott the United States GP at the start of November, but nothing came of the threats.

However, they are still waiting on the sport’s powers that be to come up with solutions.

Force India deputy principal Bob Fernley has confirmed that they have written a letter to Ecclestone with copies also sent to commercial rights holders CVC, International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Jean Todt and team principals.

The teams want an urgent meeting with Ecclestone at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.

“In our common interest and for a sustainable future of the sport, we request you, together with the other stakeholders, to implement a more equitable distribution,” Fernley said in the letter.

Reuters adds that “it spoke of a ‘questionable cartel’ of the rights holder, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Williams who controlled ‘both the governance of Formula One and, apparently, the distribution of…funds’.”

The letter added: “A two-tier system can only be considered a short-sighted vision. It is evident that the current developments are dramatically reducing the value of Formula One and massively undermining its reputation as a sport.”