For some time, Formula 1 has embarked on a path that aims to reduce costs. Last year there was a decisive, historic step: the introduction of the budget cap. Each team can spend a maximum of $145 million on the construction of the 2021 car and on personnel. From the spending limit – which will gradually be reduced to 135 million dollars in 2023 – marketing operations, the salaries of the drivers and the three main managers are however excluded. Even with these exceptions, it is self-evident that the measure tends to rebalance the forces in the field between the richest and poorest teams.
Haas did not spend these figures to build the car, so the measure moves little for the US team. Conversely, for Ferrari and Mercedes and Red Bull – used to spending well over 145 million dollars a year – the situation changes, and a lot.
The sporting director Scuderia Ferrari, Laurent Mekies, actually believes the measure damages Ferrari more than any other competitor: “Yes, I think it’s fair to say it. In reality, the measure goes much further, because in winter not only can you no longer have a double program or a triple program like the top teams do, but you have to cut your structure” – these are the words of Laurent Mekies, as reported by RacingNews365:
“We had to readjust whatever we were used to, from the working point of view, even for a single program. We will soon see the first result sof these measures and it will certainly be only the beginning. In fact, we will understand who will be better structured, who will be competitive and who will not in the coming years” – the sporting director Scuderia Ferrari concluded.
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