F1: Too late to add third car for next year, McLaren says

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier thinks it is already too late for Formula 1 teams to add third cars in 2015 even if it was demanded of them.

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone wants teams to consider running an extra car in 2015, regardless of whether all the current squads survive. Some teams have already argued that would be bad for the sport, and Boullier said on Thursday that there are also practical obstacles. He suggests that teams will need at least half a year's notice to get ready, which means that if they are given the green light now it is already too late for the first race in Australia on March 15.

Speaking about the time required for adding third cars, he said: "I think the driver is the easiest to get on board. Regarding the chassis for the third car, the logistics and the people around, we will need at least six months' notice."

Despite Ecclestone's stance, most teams agree that third cars should only be brought in to solve an entry crisis, not as an idea for improving the sport.

"This is a debate which has the wrong timing, because we have to wait," Boullier said. "If there is a need to run three cars, then we will see.

"You can question many things about revenue, but if one day we are called and asked to help F1 by running three cars, then we will have to."

HUGE COSTS IN RUNNING EXTRA CAR

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has suggested that the cost of running a third car could be as high as $40 million per year. He also reckons that there would be many negatives for F1 if smaller teams disappeared and bigger squads ran more cars.

"I don't think it's good for the sport," he said. "There is a regulation that says if the grid drops below 20 cars, there is a certain mechanism that would trigger certain teams to fill in a third team. Now that's not the case and I don't see the grid dropping below 20 cars, because that would mean two teams disappearing.

"I'm not a big fan of it; a third car means additional costs. The way you can refinance it is not enough, so even for smaller teams it wouldn't be a profitable business case to put in a third car."