Among the decisions of the FIA World Council approved yesterday is the introduction of the budget cap also for engines. The financial regulation will enter into force already in 2023 with a spending limit that has been set at 95 million dollars a year for the period that will go from the next championship to 2025, while with the debut of the new PU in 2026 the threshold will be raised to 130 million dollars.
Manufacturers, therefore, will be faced with cost constraints that will limit research and development to encourage the entry of new brands: the declared intention of the legislator is to reduce the gap between one power unit and another, by raising the competitiveness threshold of the F1 championship participants.
After the publication of the technical guidelines of the 2026 engines, it is clear that the current 6-cylinder turbo engines will no longer be useful, because with the new regulatory constraints they will have to be redesigned from scratch, starting with mono-cylinder studies.
In the engine cap budget, marketing expenses, depreciation and financial charges will be exempt, as well as taxes and any losses due to currency exchange will be revalued. Activities related to Human Resources to financial and legal activities, in addition to costs for health and safety, do not enter the restrictions.
Obviously, the production and support of PUs for customer teams and all the activities that the manufacturer will carry out outside the F1 units, as well as the management of the current power unit (2023-2025), also remain outside.
Violation of the budget cap below 5% of the spending limit will result in minor financial and / or sporting penalties, while those who exceed this limit will face the loss of points in the Constructors ‘and Drivers’ championships and financial and sporting penalties.
A manufacturer who wants to race in F1 from 2026 knows that he can be the protagonist with power unit and chassis with a maximum cost of 265 million dollars a year.
#Engine #budget #cap #million