Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur says Formula 1’s current financial structure is “unsustainable” for more than half the teams.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with RaceFans, Vasseur urged F1’s commercial rights holders Liberty Media to press ahead with its plans to overhaul the sport in 2021. He said the sport’s owners are unlikely to find common ground between all the teams.

“The issue is that we are 10 teams around the table with completely different approach, completely different structure, different budget. I don’t want to speak about competitiveness but at the end you can have Haas and Renault, for example, they are more or less at the same level but with completely different approach

“And if you listen to everybody I think that you will never find a compromise because you won’t find something fitting with every single company. At the end of the day they have to act. To take decisions.

“Honestly it’s good to listen to everybody but at one stage we have to take decisions and to take responsibilities. For sure some teams won’t be very happy but you have to find the best, not compromise, but the best direction for the series.”

A cap on budgets and changes to F1’s prize money structure are among the changes Liberty Media is trying to introduce for 2021.

“It has to be the start honestly because you know that the situation is just unsustainable for at least six teams on the grid,” said Vasseur. “I think that we, the owners, the shareholders of the teams are doing their best effort to survive until [the] 2021 change. It has to change.”

Vasseur added teams such as his could stand to benefit if a cost cap is introduced as they are used to operating on leaner budgets than the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari.

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2019 F1 season