Berger Can't Affort Being an F1 Team Owner Again

Gerhard Berger doesn't fancy a return into the Formula 1 paddock as a team owner. Having spent two seasons as part-owner of Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Austrian sold his share in the team back to Red Bull's Dietroch Mateschitz in 2008 and enjoyed a quiet life outside the Great Circus ever since.

Asked about the possibility of maybe returning to the series in that same position in the near future, Berger admitted it would be highly unlikely. And curiously enough, it's not because he doesn't want to, but because he can't afford it.

“With the conditions in formula one today, there is not the opportunity,” said Berger in a recent interview with Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. “I can't afford it. The sport has become too expensive and you can't find the money that you need to do a good job on the open market.”

We said “curiously” because Formula 1 was supposed to become more affordable following the cost-cutting solutions set up by the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone in recent years. Under the scheme set up by the ruling body and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA), costs in the series were supposed to drop to the level in the early '90s.

Berger has been a constant presence in Formula One for the past 2 decades, despite having dropped out of the series in 1997. Shortly after his retirement as a driver, the Austrian picked up as job as joint motor sport director for BMW until 2003. Three years later, he purchased part of the STR squad from Red Bull, which he later sold back in 2006.