Key details of a proposed budget cap to be introduced as part of Formula 1’s 2021 overhaul have been revealed.
According to Motorsport Week, $175m is the figure that is likely to be chosen for all team activities excluding driver salaries, marketing and engine development.
This is slightly higher than the original numbers suggested but will, based on recent figures, force the top three teams to trim around $75m off their current annual spending.
Also different is this will be an immediate cap at that figure, initial plans had called for a gradual reduction over three-to-five years, instead, that $175m will be the cap in 2021.
There is also going to be an annual evaluation of the figure with some flexibility built in to raise the cap due to inflation.
Also Read:
- F1 CEO Carey expects all teams to be ‘unhappy’ with final 2021 rules
- McLaren & Renault pinning F1 futures on financial overhaul
- Mercedes not opposed to F1 budget cap if it is ‘implementable’
Teams are welcome to conduct a trial of the new financial regulations in 2020, replicating the checks and balances that will be implemented the following year.
And it is claimed hefty punishments are being considered for any team found in breach, including a loss of points and the potential suspending of a team principal’s FIA licence.
Already, however, it has been suggested the new cap doesn’t go far enough, with Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul declaring this a missed opportunity.
“This is not a fresh start. The plan was that all teams should be profitable,” he was quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.
“The cap does not work for the private teams. A small team may expect $100 million from the Liberty prize pot in the future, but it would then have to find sponsors to generate a profit. Many will not succeed in that.”
