Liberty Media has started to take a hardline approach with Formula 1 teams regarding the introduction of a budget cap from 2021, Auto Motor und Sport claim.
Talks have been taking place between F1’s owners and teams for over a year now to agree a new Concorde Agreement, it is hoped that will coincide with an overhaul of the regulations as CEO Chase Carey tries to implement his vision for the future.
While progress is being made on the sporting aspect – with new cars and engine tweaks expected – commercially it has been much harder with top teams reluctant to agree to a budget cap and financial equality which could bring the grid closer together.
Throughout the talks, a figure of $150m has been mentioned as the likely spending limit, however, with Mercedes and Ferrari pushing for that to be raised to $200m, the German publication understands Carey has in fact lowered the initial figure to $135m, telling the manufacturers to accept or leave.
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His new stance came at the meeting of the F1 Strategy Group last week in Geneva, with the CEO concerned teams may be trying to drag talks on beyond the June 30th deadline the FIA has set for an agreement to be reached on significant changes to the regulations for 2021.
Details on what would be exempt from the budget cap remain up for discussion, and a three-year gradual introduction is still likely with a $185m limit in 2021, $160m in 2022 before dropping to the $135m in 2023.
But with time running out it will be fascinating to see if the established power brokers fold or if Liberty’s inexperience regarding F1’s politics will start to show.