One of the "hot" topics and arguments that revolve around Formula 1 in the new era is that of the budget cap, introduced in 2021 with an expenditure ceiling for each team set at 145 million dollars, which has dropped this year to 140 million dollars . Among the items included in this budget is that of the 2022 single-seaters, as beautiful and innovative as they are complex, between car design/development, component production and test/race operations. The limit wants to control spending to level the playing field and bridge the economic gap between teams that don't have the same portfolio, making the competition more "fair".
Given the scale of the cuts, especially top teams such as Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have found it difficult to comply, as they were used to being able to spend a larger budget in previous years. The biggest problem, however, beyond having to reinvent themselves and adapt to these cuts, concerns the inflation rate, a problem that some teams say needs to be addressed. The unexpected surge in the costs of many elements included in the budget cap has made it even more difficult for the top teams to manage to stay within the ceiling without compromising the development of the single-seaters.
There are those who press for one solution and those for another, also because the Formula 1 teams have different needs, objectives and resources. Those who can want to spend, those who can't push for everything to stay according to plan. A strong debate has therefore ignited, between those who want to increase the spending limit and those who instead turn up their noses when it comes to "changes in progress", recalling that the system has been approved by everyone, even by those who would now like to return to a higher spending ceiling.
Ross Brawn, spoke about the inflation problem, and admitted that a solution will be sought and that this will be among the topics to be covered on Tuesday in the F1 Commission to be held in London.
"I think something needs to be reviewed because when these rules were devised inflation was relatively low and predictable unlike now" he said Brown, which he then continued “If you look at the inflation rates that apply to companies like an F1 team, you can see that energy and raw materials are remarkably expensive at the moment. I believe a solution is on the way here."
The discussion also flared up among the team principals, immortalized before the Imola Grand Prix at a large table, where we can also identify Ross Brawn among the other personalities present. We obviously don't know what they said to each other or if it was a first, less formal approach to talk about the budget cap. However, in the last few hours some teams have exposed themselves on the subject, declaring themselves in favor or against a change in the regulation.
McLaren, a longtime supporter of the budget cap, has acknowledged that, given the rate of inflation, the problem needs to be addressed. Among the supporters of the reform there is in fact the team principal of the English team, Andreas Seidl, which stated: “Although our team wants to protect the budget cap, I believe that in special circumstances such as the current ones it is necessary to be open to dialogue and implement all necessary measures”. “This is where we are at the moment in our discussions. When unforeseen things happen during the current season, it is preferable to try to find a solution".
There are those who, on the contrary, argue that any change in the management of the budget cap issue should be addressed from 2023, such as the Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur.
“You can't change the regulations every single weekend because a team wants to spend more on development,” he told Motorsport.com.
“There is a rule, the most important thing is to stick to the rule. If the concept of inflation and the calculation of inflation is not the best, we can think about it for the future. Why not?
“Everyone was in agreement when we signed the deal. Now we have to follow the rules."
