Damon Hill: Liberty Media knows as much about Formula One as Donald Trump does about the White House
Former world champion Damon Hill has compared Formula One's new American owners to the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Liberty Media completed its takeover of Formula One in January, ousting stalwart Bernie Ecclestone and bringing a raft of heavy hitters to govern the sport, including media mogul Chase Carey and former Mercedes boss Ross Brawn.
“I think it’s like the Trump administration at the moment. I think they are learning,” Hill told City PM.
Anybody wanting to do anything in Formula One is going to have to understand it in depth and it takes a few years to get your head around how people think in Formula One.
I’m sure they’re not naive, but sure they’ve never come across anything like Formula One before. I don’t think anybody has.
Read more: Bernie Ecclestone's reign is over as Liberty Media completes F1 takeover
Budgets
The Formula One season, which starts on 26 March in Australia, is unlikely to feature the Manor team after it folded in January with administrators unable to find a buyer.
Manor is just one of several smaller teams to have disappeared under the weight of financial difficulties, having failed to break the stranglehold of teams such as Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari that boast huge budgets.
Hill had several battles with Michael Schumacher (right) throughout his career (Source: Getty)
However, Hill is not in favour of the idea of imposing spending caps to help smaller teams.
“They’ve talked about budget restrictions. How the hell do you police that? I mean, really? I don’t think it’s possible,” said Hill, who was speaking at event to launch Team Brit – a new team of injured armed service personnel who are aiming to secure a spot at the iconic Le Mans 24-hour race.
“That might sound cruel but this is sport. We’re not talking about society.
When you are entering an arena like motorsport, you’ve got to understand the rules. And the rules are that you can’t expect much help from anybody.
Read more: Wolff: There will be no tension between Hamilton and Bottas
Ferrari
Nevertheless, the 56-year-old, who won the drivers' championship in 1996, believes it is fair to question whether the most famous teams ought to continue to receive larger cuts of the sport's revenue.
“The question that is being asked is whether there is equal distributions and whether there is an anti-competitive element to the sport," he said.
“I think it is worth asking those questions. It has always been an issue as to why some teams seem to be able to get a better deal. Surely that’s not right?
“We do appear to have a situation where teams are favoured. Particularly Ferrari is a little bit more than everyone else and seems to get some sort of preferential treatment."
Hill echoed the surprise of many in Formula One at 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement, days after securing the title.
"It was a bolt out of the blue… I hope he didn’t act in haste," he added.
I hope he doesn’t look back in years to come at the racing and say ‘I wish I’d had another go’.
Team BRIT is not dependent on charitable donations, instead it will be run as a professional outfit
Damon Hill is an ambassador for Team BRIT (British Racing Injured Troops), which aims to be the first ever team of all-disabled drivers to compete in Le Mans in 2020, a feat they will achieve after progressing through racing series starting with the Fun Cup in 2017.