The budget limit of the teams decreased from 145 million dollars in the 2021 season (about 134 million euros) to 140 in the current campaign in Formula 1 (around 130 million euros).
However, rising costs in many areas that fall into this figure have made it even more difficult than anticipated for the big teams to stay below it without compromising single-seater development.
Several teams have pushed hard for the limit to be increased, or for another type of rule to be made, although some have indicated that they are content with it not changing this year.
One of the heads of the category, Ross Brawn , acknowledged that the issue should be discussed, and it will be one of the topics to be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of the Formula 1 Commission in London: “I think we have to review the increase [of costs] due to inflation”.
“Because when these rules were developed, inflation was relatively low and predictable, but now it’s the opposite,” said the director of the Great Circus. “If you look at the inflation rates that apply to industrial companies, like an F1 team, we have energy, raw materials and everything that is getting quite expensive at the moment, so I think there is a solution on the way. “.
One of the biggest pushers for a change to these regulations has been McLaren, with team principal Andreas Seidl acknowledging that, given the rate of inflation, the issue needed to be addressed.
Asked by Motorsport.com to clarify the Woking-based outfit’s position, the German said: “Despite being a team that is very interested in making sure we protect the budget cap, I think there are special circumstances like we have in this moment, we must be open to dialogue with common sense, and do what is necessary”.
“That’s where we find ourselves in this discussion, especially when unexpected things happen when the season is already underway,” he continued. “I think you have to have more common sense to know how to deal with this.”
On the contrary, the head of Alfa Romeo, Frédéric Vasseur , indicated that any change in the way of treating inflation should wait until 2023: “You cannot modify the regulations every weekend because a team wants to spend more on development “.
“Because he is overweight, or because they want extra spending on anything,” said the Frenchman. “There is a rule, the most important thing is to follow it, and if the concept of inflation and calculation is not the best, we can think about it for the future. Why not?”
“But we have something in place, and everybody agreed when we signed, now we have to follow the rules,” Vasseur said.
