Massa slams wage cuts idea

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Category: Sports. Tags: F1, Felipe Massa, Ferrari.

Massa slams wage cuts idea Felipe Massa has slammed calls for Formula One teams to cut the wages of their drivers in a bid to help cut costs.

The Ferrari driver, who finished the 2008 drivers’ championships in second, just one point behind Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, is reported to earn £8 million, around a third of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen’s salary.

“I’m not inclined to it,” Massa said when asked about Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali’s proposal to reduce driver earnings.

“In a competitive sport like this, the driver plays a fundamental part and the cost of the drivers are small compared to the total budget of the teams.

“The more people work to reduce costs, the better it is going to be for everybody.”

Massa has also said he disagrees with the plan to introduce a standard engine, which FIA president Max Mosley wanted to see implemented by 2010 to drive down the running costs of teams estimated to be around £300 million mark.

“I do not find this idea interesting,” said Massa. “The fight to diminish costs is important but a standard engine gets away from what F1 is all about – and it cannot happen.

“A Ferrari running with another engine – that is not a Ferrari. It is the same for Mercedes, Toyota or Renault.”