"It also makes sense for the competition" - Small and big F1 teams have their say on driver salary cap

The debate over F1 drivers’ salary cap has created a split between bigger and smaller teams, with the former mostly opposing the proposal and the latter being broadly in favor. Currently, the salaries of many drivers in top teams, along with the salaries of the three highest-paid employees, are exempt from the cost cap.

While smaller teams believe that the next logical move for the sport is to introduce a cap on driver salaries to further level the playing field, many top teams are firmly opposed to the idea in the short term.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto feels that there is no straightforward solution to salary caps, at least in the short term given that many drivers are currently under long-term contracts. Speaking to RN365, he said:

“There is not a straightforward solution, especially for the drivers’ salary cap. But we are discussing it and trying to understand a solution. It will not be in the short term, [as] we already have contracts in place, and we cannot simply breach them. There are legal implications, certainly to understand how to do that, so it’s a discussion. It’s an important one, we understand it and we recognise it will take time, but certainly we will go through the process.”

Binotto’s fellow team bosses Christian Horner and Toto Wolff, who head Red Bull and Mercedes respectively, agreed with his views and called for F1 to focus on other pressing issues other than the salary cap.

Horner felt that although the salary cap was “merited”, F1 would need to figure out how to better police whether teams are complying with the regulations. He urged the sport to “tidy up” existing budget caps before introducing newer ones.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Alfa Romeo team principal Fred Vasseur believes the implementation of a salary cap is important for the sport. He argued that it would help improve competition and felt that it was the right approach. He said:

“I think it’s the right approach to try to coordinate it with the budget and to have perhaps an allowance for this. You could overshoot the limit and you will have to take part of your budget cap, but we have to find something like this because it’s important for the sport. And, at the end of the day, that it also makes sense for the competition. I’m more than pleased to go into this direction.”

Vasseur drew wide support from many of his peers, including Otmar Szafnauer and Andreas Seidl, team principals for Alpine and McLaren respectively.

Seidl felt that F1 should ensure that everything that directly impacts on-track performance should be considered within a cap or an allowance, including drivers’ and team personnel salaries. He added, saying:

“I think it’s not that difficult. I’m sure you will find ways of transition, dealing with that situation.”

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F1 needs to focus on making racing cheaper instead of salary cap: Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes “too much focus” is being placed on the driver's salary cap and called for the sport to focus on more pressing issues. The Briton believes F1’s primary objective should be to reduce the exorbitant price of building a car and craft better technical and sporting regulations. Speaking to RN365, he said:

“Personally, I think too much weight and pressure is being placed on the cap. We need to do a better job with technical regulations, sporting regulations, because we’re still designing and manufacturing very expensive cars. The engine regulations for 2026; there’s nothing cheap about them, and it puts artificial pressure on the financial regulation. We’ve just got to get that balance right and look at revisiting some of the fundamentals.”

Red Bull currently has a long-term contract with Max Verstappen that stretches to at least 2028 – perhaps the longest in the sport’s history. The team is legally obliged to pay the Dutchman nearly $40 million under the contract, and with the introduction of a cost cap, it would find it hard to do so.

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