Brexit and F1 – A Divorce Between Britain and Motorsport

With the UK making the decision to leave the European Union, elongated administrative procedures and more expensive freight costs are set to have a negative effect on the sport.

Employment of British personnel for Ferrari, Toro Rosso and Sauber will decline as a result, the teams based outside of the UK will take the obvious decision of opting for EU citizens as they’ll be less complicated to process.

Happy to see the EU flag still proudly flying over our team HQ. #Brexit a catastrophe for F1 teams – all logistics rely on EU membership.

— Will Ponissi (@WillPonissi) June 24, 2016

There is fear already of teams with dual nationalities leaving the UK on the grounds that it will make more economic sense to relocate to the continent, given freight costs would be drastically smaller if team equipment and personnel are deployed from Europe.

So auf Wiedersehen Mercedes, enjoy Stuttgart. Au Revoir Renault, I’ve heard it’s nice in Viry-Chatillon. Servus Red Bull Racing, Austria will be a cheaper option for you, we understand.

We wanted our £9Billion Motorsport Industry to shrink anyway, just to quell our xenophobic paranoia.

In the run-up to the referendum, no team principal would comment on the potential impact of Brexit on their team or the sport as a whole, with all saying that they did not comment on politics. In that light, it is unlikely that we will see much said on the record now it’s gone and happened.