Cost-cutting at Formula One too

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, who received the Palme d'Or award from the International Automobile Festival here on Tuesday in the company of world champion Lewis Hamilton, said Formula One costs would be vastly reduced this season.

The sport has been in crisis since the world economic crisis got in full swing the last few months but Dennis was optimistic a round of pragmatic cost-cutting would enable teams to remain financially viable.

"I think the top teams will manage to reduce their costs from between 10 and 50 percent," Dennis said. "But for the smaller teams it will be more dramatic, to the order of 30 to 50 percent. That is the aim we have this year.

"We are certainly going to take into account the smaller teams, who will be able to make the most of cheaper engines and gearboxes.

"A big team, which does all the developmental work and research, will still spend from 100 to 130 million euros for its engines and gearboxes while smaller

teams, who will not do the same amount of developmental work, will be able to have exactly the same products for just 6.5 million euros.

"Major efforts have been made to make Formula One viable but we will not stop there and will do even more," said the McLaren boss. "We mustn't damage the DNA of the sport, its showbiz side."