"A 1-2-3-4 million" worth of discrepancy in cost-cap could affect '1, 2, or 3' upgrades, say F1 teams

F1 teams say managing their resources efficiently within the cost cap has a substantial impact on the number of upgrades they can bring to their cars each season.

According to Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies, a discrepancy of just a few million could adversely affect them from producing anywhere between two to three upgrades. Speaking at the Spanish GP, he said:

“If you have a one-two-three-four million discrepancies, it could mean one, two, or three updates. So, you need to nail it, up until the very last details of the company structures and country differences etcetera. It’s a level where we are not at currently. Simply because the regulations are young.”

Despite the added responsibility of ensuring that their spending is within the cost cap, most teams are positive about the measure. According to Williams’ head of trackside engineering Dave Robson, the cost cap will ensure that the sport has a level playing field among all teams. He added:

“It’s important for the sport. It’s a good direction to go in, and over time, we will make it work. But it is a little bit tricky at the moment; it definitely is a bit of extra work.”

Despite the cost cap handicapping traditionally dominant teams such as Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes, they still hold an edge over the rest of the grid owing to their superior infrastructure.

To compensate for the deficit, teams such as Aston Martin, McLaren and Williams have been investing heavily into upgrading their infrastructure in recent years. With the cost cap set to decrease even more over the coming years, F1 could achieve an unprecedented level of equity among all teams.

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F1 teams need to be flexible to accommodate “fair regulations”

Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies has urged F1 teams to be “flexible” in accommodating any future regulations that might be necessary to keep the sport fair for everybody. He said:

“We all need to be very careful to have the necessary flexibility, to make sure we still have a fair regulation, we still have a fair playing field for everybody. And we keep going and keep enforcing regulations that is good for the futures.”

While the cost cap has been a success so far, questions over its enforcement by the FIA remain unanswered. Many have expressed concerns that teams may seek to circumvent the spending regulations without a stronger auditing process.