Mar.17 (GMM) The F1 world is dramatically tightening its belt, but most of the top drivers will be unscathed.
At Tuesday's meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, more radical cost-cutting is expected to be rolled out by the FIA, including possible budget caps, and further test limits and car standardisations.F1 teams are also making their own cutbacks, including BMW, who is believed to have radically slashed its 2009 budget for corporate hospitality."I know that many in the team have for example had their flights downgraded, and also their hotels. Obviously more attention is being paid to (expenses)," team driver Nick Heidfeld said in an interview with Germany's DPA news agency.However, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has revealed that while he flies economy, "at BMW even the test drivers are in business class!"Heidfeld confirmed: "It doesn't affect me with the flights because my contract states which class I fly."Moreover, cutbacks aside, team boss Mario Theissen insists BMW is committed to its F1 project. "From a cost-benefit point of view, formula one is very positive for us," he said.
