Formula 1 is poised to set in stone the lowering of the stables’ budget ceiling to $ 145 million by 2021, while envisaging a further reduction in the years to come.
After a series of consultations and several meetings organized remotely, the governing bodies should soon give the Formula 1 teams the direction chosen for the evolution of the budget ceiling. The starting point should be $ 145 million per year per team in 2021, while further discussions will focus on lowering this ceiling to $ 130 million in 2022. This would in particular allow the larger teams to prepare for staff reductions, while gradually approaching the $ 100 million mark claimed by certain structures, McLaren at the head.
“Today’s meeting was between the FIA and Formula 1”, says Ross Brawn, F1 sports boss, at the microphone of Sky Sports. “The details will be communicated to the teams in the coming days. There have been a lot of consultations and I think we are now in the final stages. Everything will be clear soon. The initial objectives of the budget ceiling were to have a more competitive peloton and I think that given the current situation, the economic viability of Formula 1 is the priority. I think that it counts as much for the big as for the small teams. “
“It has become very clear to the people who are above certain team directors and senior managers of these structures that the message is crystal clear: we must cut costs. Therefore, this is a big extra step in the lowering the budget ceiling. We started at $ 175 million, there has been a long battle to get there, and given the current crisis we will now start at 145. The discussion is really about what point we can lower it further in the coming years. “
“We always want the big teams to win”
Ross Brawn also recalls that the lowering of the budget ceiling will be accompanied by a more equitable redistribution of income under the future Concorde Agreements, which should allow a leveling of the plateau in terms of resources. “It’s balanced in all directions”, he insists. “We are reducing the amount of money that could be spent in F1 and improving the distribution of bonuses by making it more equitable between the teams. A good midfielder should be able to podium, maybe win, and she should make a small profit. If we succeed, then we will have a viable future. “
In addition, F1 has definitively ruled out a further postponement of future regulations, which has already been postponed from 2021 to 2022. This hypothesis was notably raised by Red Bull Racing, always with the aim of making savings, but was not retained. “Some teams insisted on postponing another year”, confirms Ross Brawn. “I believe there is a justified need to keep these cars for next year. The initiatives we are taking with the new regulations is to make F1 more economically viable in terms of its complexity, from where the money is spent “The current cars are too complex. The more we spend, the faster we go. We have to level this slope and create a situation where money is not the only criterion for competitiveness.”
“We always want the big teams to win”, concludes the Briton. “We have to maintain the integrity of F1. It’s a sport, the best people always have to win. We can have a form of competitive racing in the future with these new regulations and these new cars. They have been postponed of a year, but they will certainly arrive in 2022. “
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