The FIA has introduced an annual spending limit starting from the 2021 season, with the long-term goal of making the series more competitive by limiting the ability of top teams to spend large sums that second-tier teams do not have available. thus having to limit their investments.
Although it was not the primary objective, the top management of Formula 1 had not hidden the hope that the new financial and technical regulations for the 2022 season could compact the grid, thus avoiding the domination of a single team as had happened in previous years with the Mercedes. A vain hope, because from the middle of the championship onwards, Red Bull took off, further extending its lead in the first part of the 2023 season, where it has so far obtained eight wins out of eight rounds.
Inevitably, this meant that the impact of the budget cap was questioned, casting doubt on the actual validity of the project. In fact, it is important to bear in mind that currently the second-tier teams still have a rather significant gap in terms of infrastructure compared to the top teams, so much so that in the budget cap there is an extra section of 36 million over four years which allows make investments to improve their equipment.
Alpine recently bought a new simulator to close the gap to the top teams.
Photo by: Renault F1
Alpine recently bought a new simulator, while Williams is dealing with a long period of time where the facilities have not been updated due to lack of funds, making them almost obsolete.
According to James Allison, technical director of Mercedes, it will still be many years before being able to express a definitive judgment on the impact of the budget cap: “I think it is too early to judge the effect of the cap on the starting grid. I think it will take still many years before we see the effects”.
The former Ferrari and Lotus designer believes that the spending limit still needs some revisions to increase its effectiveness, but argues that its implementation was done for the good of the series: “Certainly, in terms of understanding the rules, I think that all the teams have understood them at the end of the first year,” said the British engineer, even if in reality Red Bull was sanctioned for exceeding the limit in 2021, while Aston Martin was fined for one procedural infringement.
Pierre Wache, Red Bull Racing Engineer, Dan Fallows, Aston Martin F1 Team, James Allison, Technical Director, Mercedes-AMG
Photo by: Motorsport Images
“Is that difficult to manage? Well, there’s been a downward movement of the cap, by regulation, which definitely means there’s an increasingly difficult environment to work in. I think, in general, the cap has been good for the financial health of the sport and for the safety of the teams”.
“There is probably still work to be done to reform it and make it a better regulation overall. But in that respect it is no different from sporting or technical rules. They are all work in progress and gradually find their way as we learn the rules. things and that the sport changes. But I think it’s too early to tell that it will have a significant effect on grid compression.”
To be able to make it effective, it will also be important to have an effective control system. Recently, in fact, there has been talk of closing a gray area for which any intellectual property could pass to the teams from projects outside Formula 1, with several teams finished under the magnifying glass of the FIA. Otmar Szafnauer himself, Alpine’s team principal, a few months ago hinted that some teams had found a loophole to keep more employees without falling within the budget.
Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team
Photo by: Motorsport Images
“[Il regolamento] It is a living entity… However, it is so complex that inevitably there are loopholes. What we need to do is close some of these loopholes operationally.”
“The only reason to close them is for the playing field to be level. Once we have a level playing field and those with greater financial capacity cannot spend it, then the group will consolidate a little more. This is good for the fans and for motor racing,” added Szafnauer.
#Allison #early #evaluate #effectiveness #budget #cap