Red Bull team boss Christian Horner warns a poorly enforced budget cap would risk creating further inequality between teams.
Formula 1 bosses are looking to implement a limit on spending to $135m by 2023 but will introduce an initial cap in 2021 to allow the current big spenders time to adjust.
However, with teams like Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault simply arms of a much bigger global multinational, Horner is concerned possible loopholes could see them able to circumnavigate budget cap rules by shifting funds elsewhere.
“What is incredibly important for Red Bull is that we are afforded the same opportunities as our competitors like Ferrari and Mercedes,” Horner was quoted by F1i.com.
“We believe we have earned that in the time that we have been in F1, and it is vitally important that any financial restrictions that are bought into the sport are on a fair and equitable basis, and are not in any way discriminatory against any one team.
“Financial regulations and governance is an extremely hard thing for the FIA to police fairly, and we are waiting with interest to see how they propose to do that.”
Motorsport.com is reporting a possible avenue being explored is setting two different measures to cut costs, one for the independent outfits and other for the works operations.
However: “I don’t think there is any team in F1 that would not like to see its cost base go down,” the Red Bull team boss claimed.
“You are not going to be able to reduce everyone’s costs to that of Sauber, so there is going to have to be a midway point.
“There is going to have to be a compromise at some point – that ultimately the big teams aren’t happy with and the small teams aren’t happy with and that is a true compromise.”
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The Red Bull boss conceded it is “very difficult” for Liberty to find a watertight solution for the budget cap, offering a simple example of the challenge they face, but then offered his own alternative solution to the spending problem.
“Mercedes today have people who are employed through certain dealerships that are working on their F1 programme. How do you police that?” he stated.
“That is why I think it is important to take the pressure away from the cap and have it more through the number of upgrades, the types of parts, proscriptive design, standardisation, areas that are benign. Why not?”