The shrinking car count has triggered speculation the top teams might be asked to boost numbers in 2015 by adding third cars to their garages. That prospect has now dwindled, with Todt saying 18 cars is sufficient for now.
“We’ll get a new team [Haas F1 Team] in 2016,” he said. “So in the worst case, we will have 18 cars in 2015 and 20 in 2016. We could also make a new bid to attract one or more additional teams. But for this to be successful, the costs must be cut,” he insisted.
Nonetheless, Todt does not want to overstate the significance of the two backmarkers’ survival struggles.
“Of course I’m not happy about what happened to Caterham and Marussia,” Todt said. “But such things have always happened.”
Toto Wolff, the boss of the new reigning championship team Mercedes, agrees that so long as F1 retains its core group of teams, it will prosper.
“[Teams] come and go,” Wolff said. “I think there is a core group that is really important, and that group has been there forever. That’s important to remember.”
– See more at: http://autoweek.com/article/formula-one/fia-boss-says-f1-must-cut-costs-attract-new-teams?utm_source=RacingDaily20141210&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=headline-center&utm_content=body&utm_campaign=awracingdaily#sthash.aFYpLs5G.dpuf