The teams gathered to discuss the budget ceiling
The teams are invited to discuss the budget ceiling on Friday during a meeting.
The Formula 1 teams were invited to discuss the budget cap during the Austrian Grand Prix. The objective of this meeting is to reach an agreement among the teams regarding an increase or not of the budget cap. Several directors expressed their views on the subject, starting with Williams’ director Josh Capito: “We need to reach an agreement very quickly. I am confident that we will find a compromise that benefits us all.” These statements align with the declaration of McLaren’s director Andreas Seidl: “This meeting should allow us to find a solution in the best interest of the sport possible and put an end to the debate.”
The controversy arose when the big teams informed the FIA that it would be impossible for them to comply with the maximum budget in the current global context, and they asked the FIA to take this case of force majeure into consideration. Mercedes’ director, Toto Wolff, explained that the electricity bill at the Brackley factory has increased significantly, going from 2.947 million euros to 7.662 million euros. Freight costs have also risen, leading the big teams to seek assistance from the FIA.
Christian Horner said about this meeting: “It will be interesting to see what the FIA can propose to us. They have promised to come back to us with a proposal, so we will listen carefully to what they suggest.”
The director of Alpine, Otmar Szafnauer, who had suggested to the big teams to simply reduce the development of their single-seaters, finally agreed with the idea of raising the cap: « If it’s something reasonable, we will consider it and vote with full knowledge ».
It is also planned to discuss the new regulations for the 2026 engines during this meeting.
