Formula 1 is currently in a boom phase. But in the middle of the upswing, Red Bull started one of the greatest series of successes in F1 history. Not all fans were happy about 19 Verstappen victories in a single year. The premier class has become predictable. And in sports, as we all know, nothing is worse than boredom.
US fans in particular demand variety and good entertainment. It is not for nothing that the major professional leagues on the other side of the Atlantic work with formats that make longer periods of dominance by a team impossible. If you win too often, you have to let the competition go first when selecting the best young players. And there are strict upper limits on the salaries of the entire squad.
We now also have a spending limit in Formula 1. But the salaries of the drivers and the three most highly paid team members are excluded from the budget cap. In this way, the champions can invest their championship bonus directly in the top personnel and poach talented pilots and engineers from their smaller opponents.
Red Bull
The 2023 championship was celebrated in style in Milton Keynes. Fortunately, these expenses are not included in the budget cap.
Record fees to the FIA
But there are also efforts in Formula 1 to slow down the best in class in order to ensure more balance. For example, the most successful points collectors have always been asked to pay the most intensively by the FIA. After the record 2023 season, Red Bull has to pay the world association the record registration fee of 7.4 million US dollars.
With simultaneous income of around $170 million from the F1 bonus pots plus sponsorship money, which is also likely to be in the three-digit million range, this expense can certainly be absorbed. In addition, the FIA fees are not part of the budget cap and therefore do not reduce development resources.
By the way, Max Verstappen himself also has to bleed a lot. The FIA charges Formula 1 drivers an annual fee for issuing the necessary super license. The final bill here is 2,100 euros per point – which, given the record yield of 575 points, also amounts to a record fee of 1.2 million euros. For comparison: Vice champion Sergio Perez “only” has to shell out half.
Red Bull
The fact that an F1 champion collects more than twice as many points as the runner-up is unique. Verstappen’s fee for the super license is also record-breaking.
Aero development limited
But there are also consequences in Formula 1 that hurt sportingly and slow down the best teams at least a little. This gives weaker teams an advantage in aerodynamic development. The zero line is with the seventh best team, which was Williams last season. The Grove team gets 100 percent of the permitted wind tunnel runs (320) and computer simulations (2,000).
The worst team (Haas) gets a surcharge of 15 percent – so they can run the wind tunnel 368 times and examine 2,300 elements with the CFD programs. For Red Bull at the upper end of the scale, the so-called “Aerodynamic Testing Regulations” (ATR) stipulate a reduction to 70 percent – i.e. only 224 wind tunnel runs and 1,400 CFD runs.
However, the competition shouldn’t expect too much from this disadvantage. After the budget cap violations from the 2021 season, Red Bull’s aero development for 2023 was reduced by an additional ten percent. But it didn’t do any harm. The RB19 was so superior right from the start that, in addition to comfortably winning the title, they were even able to save enough wind tunnel time for the 2024 model.
Red Bull
Less wind tunnel time and lower investments – as an F1 champion you are slowed down in development.
Strengeres Investitionslimit
According to the RB engineers, the disadvantage will only be felt until the first major upgrade of the coming season. Last year, Red Bull voluntarily refrained from implementing possible development steps for cost reasons. The competition fears that everything will come at once with the new RB20. McLaren boss Zak Brown warns: “This could be a nasty surprise.”
Another disadvantage that Red Bull has to accept as a top team is the reduced capital investments. The so-called “CapEx” limit, which limits investments in infrastructure, is 51 million euros over the next four years for the three top teams Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.
For comparison: The four bottom teams in the World Cup standings are allowed to spend 65 million on new development tools such as wind tunnels or simulators over the same period. However, they also have the greatest need to catch up, which is why the industry’s major players have voluntarily agreed to this compromise.
Whoever is successful is punished in Formula 1. However, the disadvantage is not as great as in the US professional leagues mentioned at the beginning. If Red Bull and Verstappen continue to drive Formula 1 into the ground, the pressure to change something in the existing system could increase.
2024-01-20 23:36:56
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