While McLaren pushes to lower cost cap, Ferrari threatens to quit
A cost cap would stifle development and likely close the field up, evaporating the advantage held by frontrunners and bringing the midfield into play.
Things are not too good in Formula 1 right now. Teams are struggling without income.
McLaren, Racing Point, Renault, Williams, Haas, and Formula One Management, have all furloughed staff in recent weeks while many drivers have also taken pay cuts.
Formula 1 cars won’t be back on track until April at the earliest and ten races have already been postponed. The Monaco Grand Prix was cancelled altogether.
On April 6, Formula 1’s teams held a meeting to address their options amid the pandemic. According to reporting by the BBC and Reuters, the teams agreed to reduce 2021’s cost-cap from the initial $175 million USD to $150 million.
But, not everyone is convinced that’ll be enough.
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown believed the cost cap should be slashed by another third and lowered to $100 million, he told the BBC. He would compromise at $125 million, he added.
Brown justified his reasoning by stating Formula 1 was “in a very fragile state” and that up to four teams would disappear if this crisis wasn’t managed correctly. McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl echoed the same sentiment as Brown in an interview with The Guardian.
Their predictions may not be too far fetched. The economic repercussions from the Global Financial Crisis spelt the end of Honda and Toyota’s Formula 1 operations.
However, pushing for a lower cost cap is also in McLaren’s favour. A cost cap would stifle development and likely close the field up, evaporating the advantage held by frontrunners and bringing the midfield, including McLaren, into play.
Lowering the cap below $175 million is something the midfield has pushed for previously, as Autosport reported when the cap was initially agreed upon in June last year.
McLaren’s apparent conflict of interest, pushing a financial change that would benefit them, has caught the eyes of the top teams. The BBC reported that the frontrunners were “suspicious” other teams were using the coronavirus crisis to “hobble the big teams”.
Ferrari also hinted they would also be prepared to leave Formula 1 if a lower budget cap was implemented, Team Principal Mattia Binotto said in an interview with The Guardian.
The BBC has reported that Mercedes was willing to drop the cost cap below $150 million, while Red Bull and Ferrari were hesitant - a claim corroborated by Motorsport.com.
Another meeting of the teams to explore a drop from $150 million to $125 million was supposed to take place in the past week, various outlets reported, but there have been no further news updates on the topic.
Brown believed a further cut to the cost cap was supported by 80 per cent of teams, according to the BBC.
The plan also has the support of FIA President Jean Todt.
The Frenchman, speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, said he wanted to reduce costs too, but also that he needed to keep everyone happy. Formula 1 was not immune to teams pulling the plug, Todt said.
His comment came days before Binotto explosive interview with The Guardian.
“That's why we must listen to everybody. Even the big ones, you must never take anything for granted. So we must consider everything,” Todt said.