Force India Co-Owner Vijay Mallya Is Losing It On Twitter
Formula One's budgetary woes seem to have come to an inevitable head: someone's gotta flip their lid on social media. That someone is Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya, and he's expressing his displeasure by putting Red Bull on blast for their cheaty wings.
Earlier this week, a letter from Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley surfaced that outlined just how the smaller teams have been screwed over by the current budgetary structure as well as by the move to V6 turbo hybrid engines. Development costs have skyrocketed with the advent of the new engines and the small teams' share of series revenue is still woefully inadequate compared to larger teams'.
So, Mallya has taken to the good ol' strategy of talkin' smack on social media:
Arrogance and a superiority complex on the part of those who are paid to be in F1 should not dilute or colour those who pay to be in F1
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) November 22, 2014
Have holders of purse strings and decision makers in F1 become slaves to the whims of the big boys and the contracts ? What about F1 sport ?
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) November 22, 2014
And then, a retweet—just so we know who he's talking about:
Red Bull have been excluded from Abu Dhabi GP qualifying for driving illegal cars: http://t.co/ucVuPyTTo9 pic.twitter.com/5OOykplKPk
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 22, 2014
Bustedddddd.
Red Bull Racing is part of the Formula One Strategy Group, a conglomerate of major F1 teams which the letter co-signed by Force India, Sauber and Lotus described as part of a "Cartel" that unjustly distributes Formula One's Prize Fund in favor of the larger teams who don't need the extra cash to keep participating in the sport.
I'm guessing the planned meetings with Bernie Ecclestone (chief executive of the Formula One group and noted curmudgeon) aren't going so well for F1's hard-working little guys.