Sometimes, fans underestimate the interpenetration between the magnificent, almost dreamlike world of motorsport and the much more prosaic world of the society in which we are immersed every day. The management of a motorsport championship and of all the resources invested in it is, however, immediately conditioned also by the economic policy choices made by the States in which Formula 1, in one way or another, has taken root. Let’s see together how and with what consequences Brexit will also hit the world of F1.
Let’s do the math Brexit F1
The Formula 1 paddock currently has ten teams. Six of these teams fly the English flag or have their headquarters on the other side of the Channel. In addition to Williams, McLaren and Racing Point, which run directly under the insignia of the cross of St. Andrew, Mercedes, Red Bull and Renault also manage their commercial operations from the United Kingdom (in the locations of Brackley, Milton Keynes and Enstone). If we consider an average of 600-700 employees directly hired by the teams, we already speak of a number of workers involved ranging from 3600 to 4200 units. To these must be added private contractors and all those who contribute to the logistics of the team even with a third party contract.
These numbers are far from irrelevant, and translate into significant economic losses that almost automatically result from the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. Let’s go into detail.
Free movement
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) regulates the lives of the subjects of EU law in many ways, and recognises four fundamental freedoms of movement. Let us analyse them individually in their implications in F1.
People
The history of the free movement of people goes back as far as the founding treaties of the first European Economic Communities, and was substantially oriented towards encouraging the mobility of subordinate work within the Member States. Over time, it has acquired a larger extension, relating to the right of residence of citizens, but in our case we are interested in its original core.
The Formula 1 teams select staff from all over Europe and from all over the world, in high percentages. Up until now, the principle enshrined in Article 45 TFEU has allowed European citizens to take advantage of facilitated procedures in the search for, stipulation and execution of self-employment and employment in the Member States. All contracts entered into by English companies and all work carried out in English territory, therefore, will be more difficult to access and continue.
Services and capital
Under Articles 56 and 67 TFEU respectively, those two principles were indeed the basis for. the formation of the single European market and have a major influence on trade relations between Community and non-Community undertakings.
The movement of capital and the provision of services in the world of Formula 1 has an importance which is almost self-evident to underline. Partnerships, sponsorships, provision of collateral services (e.g. catering, IT services, logistics services) have so far benefited from facilitated bureaucratic and economic treatment. From now on, even the stipulation of a simple sponsorship or a contract for the components will be much more burdensome.
Goods
The amount of material that is carried around the world by a Formula 1 team is fearsome to behold. To move an entire motorhome, two cars, tyres, fuel and employees, each team uses tens of trucks, if we only consider (because that’s what we’re interested in) land transport in the so-called european leg of the Championship. Brexit f1
The free movement of goods, guaranteed by Article 28 TFEU, prohibits the imposition of customs duties and equivalent tariffs and greatly limits border controls between Member States, along the lines of the Schengen Agreements. This means that, in European land transport, teams save time and money. When they come from a non-EU country, such as the United Kingdom, they will soon be treated in a much different and much. more expensive way, and it will be difficult for them to move their entire infrastructure from one racetrack to another within a week. Perhaps that is also why the 2020 calendar is so late.
We still do not know where Brexit will lead the United Kingdom, and no political assessment is implied in this piece. The consequences of an exit without any kind of trade agreement, a scenario feared in recent months, will not however, be overlooked. That is certainly being considered by the teams concerned.
