Schumacher asked to take a $50m pay cut

LONDON: Ferrari have declined comment on a British newspaper report saying the Formula One team was considering a five-million-pound (US$8 million) pay cut for star driver Michael Schumacher.

The Sun tabloid quoted Schumacher’s manager as saying Ferrari had already made an offer to reduce the German driver’s reported annual salary of about 25 million pounds (US $40 million). His contract expires at the end of the season. “There has been an offer made and Michael has said he will let me know when he is ready to talk about it,” the paper quoted the manager, Willi Weber, as saying. Schumacher is in Malaysia preparing for tomorrow’s second Grand Prix of the season. “We don’t have anything to say on this matter,” said a Ferrari spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified, from the team’s headquarters in Maranello, Italy. “It’s a personal issue and you’ll have to ask Michael. I can’t say if it’s a lie or anything else. He is paid by us, but it’s a personal issue.”

Ferrari may be seeking to reduce Schumacher’s salary due to his age — 34 — and a general desire by Formula One teams to cut overall costs. Ferrari is controlled by the struggling Italian automaker Fiat. The Sun reported that Ferrari’s two chief rivals, the McLaren and Williams teams, could be interested in signing the five-time champion if he chooses not to renew with Ferrari. “If every team was asked what driver they most wanted they would say Michael Schumacher,” Patrick Head, Williams’ technical director, was quoted as saying.