An unpredictable problem
At the F1 Commission meeting during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, one of the hottest topics was the budget cap. When the FIA and F1 leaders had set the bar for 2022 a 140 million dollars they certainly couldn't have foreseen the outbreak of conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In the globalized world in which we live, not even Formula 1 is exempt from the repercussions of war and is forced to deal with a increase in energy costs and a major inflation. This situation caused a lot of discussion within the Circus and divided the teams two schools of thought.
On the one hand, the top teams, wealthier than those accustomed to sailing behind the scenes, complained about a disproportionate increase in their fixed costs and pushed for change the budget cap in the current season. On the other hand i smaller team they spoke out against the top teams' proposal: increasing the budget cap would, in fact, mean further widen the gap with the leading positions.
Budget cap: the solution that satisfies no one
This led to the decision to increase the available budget cap 3.1%. This compromise, however, did not make anyone happy. Toto wolff explained how this choice will allow Mercedes and others to cover only a minimal part of the costs of inflation.
The McLaren team principal is also of the same opinion Andreas Seidl: "I think that six or seven teams could exceed the limit which would have the consequence that, depending on how high this exceedance is, it would be a violation of the regulation e there would be related sanctions".
“I don't want to give a figure, but it would be considerable because they have been there unexpected and gigantic cost increases which have nothing to do with normal inflation. Especially regarding the transportation and the billselectricity, which were not foreseeable".
Sources: Formula Passion, Motorsport-Total
