Just two seasons after its introduction, the budget cap has already made the whole world of Formula 1 discuss in a rather heated way. The idea of putting a ceiling on team expenses is very clear: to reduce the investment possibilities of the richest and most powerful teams to allow the others, with less disposable income, to arrive over time to be equally able to compete with the top teams . The scandal involving Red Bull with reference to the 2021 season, in which the Austrian team exceeded the spending limit – albeit marginally – by ‘getting away’ with a fine and fewer hours to devote to car development, putting the others on a war footing stables.
The problem now seems to be that of finding sanctions that, from a future point of view, are appropriate for any infractions – read budget overruns – committed by the teams. In the case of Red Bull, the good faith of the team and the fact that the violation did not concern excessively high figures. Especially on this second point, not everyone agrees. First of all, Ferrari had underlined how even an irregularity of a few million could lead to a significant illegal advantage in terms of performance. Romain Grosjeana former Formula 1 driver who is now involved in IndyCar and in the WEC, agrees with the line that had been pursued by the Maranello team.
“The budget cap is the best idea in F1 history since the Halo – underlined the Gazzetta dello Sport the transalpine pilot – having said that though tougher measures would be needed if it is violated“. The case cited by Grosjean, inevitably, is precisely the one that concerns the Milton Keynes stable: “Even if the final figure attributed to Red Bull is lower than that assumed at the beginning, a few million can make the difference”. The fear of the former Haas standard bearer is that other teams may decide to cheat and then trust in a minor penalty: “If the penalty is light for a few million, tomorrow another team could think of going over by 6 or 10 million” he concluded.
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