That’s unique to Formula 1. Teams could get extra money to expand sprint races from three to six, but only seven out of ten would be happy. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull don’t care about the extra money in the register. They want the budget cap increased by $2.65 million. As compensation for allegedly higher expenses.
McLaren boss Zak Brown had railed against this in his most recent fire letter: “Some teams are demanding that the cost limit be increased by an unreasonable amount, even though there is clear evidence that there was hardly any damage in the relevant races last year. I think so a clumsy attempt to defend themselves against the loss of their competitive advantage.”
In fact, none of the three 2021 sprint races significantly increased costs for the teams. The mileage is the same as in a free practice session. The only crash victim was Pierre Gasly in Monza. All the others came through Saturday’s Grand Prix either undamaged or with minor damage. “The chance that one of your drivers will fly off in the third practice session is almost as high,” Haas team boss Guenther Steiner knows from his own experience.
McLaren and six other teams consistently reject the softening of the cost cap through the back door. Haas’ proposal to give all teams an extra $2.65 million was not well received by the top teams. “The only thing that interests them is to protect the advantage over the small teams as much as possible. That can only be done with a higher budget cap,” Steiner notes.
Now F1 boss Stefano Domenicali’s plan to double the number of sprints to six has apparently died. A few days ago, teams were informed that there would be a maximum of three mini-races on the 2022 calendar – maybe even fewer. It is not yet clear which Grand Prix weekends the sprints will be part of.
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Three sprints have already been approved once in the regulations. Eight out of ten votes would be needed to double under the conditions demanded by the top teams. Impossible with a tuning ratio of 3:7. From the marketers perspective, the blocking policy is annoying. On sprint weekends, significantly more viewers turned on the TV on Friday and Saturday. Each of the three sprints delivered at least one extra headline.
Formula 1 is therefore already considering voting for an increase in sprints in the 2023 season. A positive vote is more likely. With so much advance notice, six pro votes are enough. The top teams could not defend themselves against the majority right. Three votes would then not be enough to demand consideration for the cost limit.
For F1 management it would be a smack win. By giving up three additional sprints, you and the teams also lose additional income from the organizers and the main sponsor. According to the original plans, the first sprint should have taken place at the start of the season in Bahrain. The organizer would have put extra money on the table for the additional attraction. Money that is now also lost to all teams.
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