Paris (AFP)
Formula 1 drivers Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris are cutting wages to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their stable, a McLaren spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.
According to the specialized site Motorsport.com, this measure concerns all of McLaren's staff, including its CEO Zak Brown, the British team being the first to announce this type of decision.
"The McLaren Group has laid off a number of employees as part of broader cost-cutting measures due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its operations," said the spokesman.
"These measures are intended to protect jobs in the short term so that our employees can return to full-time work when the economy recovers."
The British government allows companies to put their employees on partial unemployment by guaranteeing 80% of their salary up to a ceiling set at 2,500 pounds per month (around 2,800 euros).
The first eight races of the season having been canceled (Australia, Monaco) or postponed sine die (Bahrain, China, Vietnam, Netherlands, Spain, Azerbaijan) and the CEO of F1 considering a calendar of 15 to 18 Grand Prix against 22 initially, the teams will have to face in 2020 a consequent fall in their commercial and sponsorship revenues.
Consequently - and in order to reshape the calendar - the summer closure of the factories has been brought forward to March-April, in full containment measures in Europe, and extended from 14 to 21 days minimum.
It was also decided to postpone for a year the change in technical regulations initially planned for 2021, which will give birth to single-seaters with completely redesigned aerodynamics.
The 2020 season is scheduled to start in Canada, in Montreal, on June 14.
© 2020 AFP