“You break it, you pay for it”. The popular wisdom can also serve to explain a hyper-technological world such as Formula 1. Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull are in fact joining together to push on the idea of making those who are actually at fault pay for the damages of accidents: for example, the several million euro needed to repair the damaged cars at the first corner of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix should be paid by Mercedes and Aston Martin, because the contacts were triggered by their drivers, more precisely by Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas. It is not fair, according to the idea expressed by team principals Mattia Binotto and Christian Horner, that Ferrari and Red Bull have to cut spending chapters in the budget cap (145 million dollars in 2021) because of others, not to mention that Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen will 99% have to serve a penalty on the grid in the second part of the season for using a fourth power unit. Therefore a double sporting damage, as well as an economic one.
In defense of Mercedes and Aston Martin first came the McLaren ‘partner’, in the person of team principal Andreas Seidl: “Horner mentions the budget cap every time but honestly I am not behind him. Accidents are part of our sport. It is up to us to manage the budget in the right way”. He was echoed by Haas colleague Günther Steiner, who already has to deal with a lot of damage as a result of several accidents involving Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin: “We have to live with these situations and be flexible. So, if suddenly we have fewer accidents, what do we do? Shall we lower it again?” – Haas Team Principal Günther Steiner explained, as reported by PlanetF1 – “No, I believe that contacts are part of the races and the risks we take in the race. You cannot adjust the budget or the regulation based on how many accidents have occurred, it does not seem to me that any change is necessary on this issue.” – he explained.
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