In terms of redeployment Ferrari faces various options including WEC and/or IndyCar projects given the buget cap which will Formula 1 is planning for the following years. Ands the indications are that F1 caps will be further reduced in the future.
All of which raises the question: should the budget cap eventually be reduced further, say to the $120m level targeted by some? And should stringent regulatory restrictions apply under a cap or should teams have the freedom to decide how and where to direct their spending in what is after all a technologically-driven sport?
“Let’s start from the $145m”- Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto explains for RaceFans – “let’s see what it looks like, let’s see if we can really afford it, and then eventually you realise what would be the next numbers. I think the decision of $145m today reflects what will be the technical regulations of the future and their effect as well. For me the number is not only a reduction, but a reflection of what regulations are in place.” – he added.
He concedes that “smaller teams will always call for a lower number” but insists that F1 must remain the pinnacle of technology, what he refers to as a “platform of innovation, a competition of technology.”
He adds that, “It cannot become a type of F2 of the future or Formula E even. The fact is, F1 is F1, and the fact that manufacturer teams are pushing technology beyond the limits is important.”
A second issue is that of spend versus regulatory restrictions and initiatives such as parts homologation and freezes. Is that really compatible with the technological platform referred to?
“It is a good argument,” says Binotto, who might be described as a ‘true-blue engineer’ if it wasn’t for the bright red uniform. “I think you can always have regulations that can be free, to do whatever car you wish. Six wheels [think Tyrrell’s P34] within a budget cap, because you just give freedom. But I think that having a budget cap is a way to control expenses and another way of helping the teams to converge, to a certain level, the performance. [F1] is a great show, so if you leave too much freedom on the technical or sporting [side] you may find that you do not have sufficient competition between the teams. So I think regulations are there to make a great show and the regulations become our challenge to find the best solution.”- the Ferrari boss concluded.
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