F1 ratifies its cultural revolution
In addition to a reduced budget cap, the FIA has also approved the implementation of restrictions on engine development as well as wind tunnel usage inversely limited by the Constructors' standings. This is simply unprecedented in the history of the sport!
The time for half-measures is over. In the face of the current absolute urgency, the teams have achieved the rare feat of agreeing on coercive measures that aim to ensure the economic viability of all participants while bringing the performance levels of the teams closer together to enhance the spectacle on track.
Budgets revised downwards
As announced earlier this month, the budget cap will be lowered to 145 million dollars starting next season, instead of the initially planned 175 million. An additional reduction of five million per season is also planned to maintain a cap of 135 million over the 2023-2025 period. These amounts, based on 21 races per season, may be revised depending on calendar changes.
This budget reduction will therefore involve the return of limitations on power unit upgrades, as was the case when the new hybrid regulations were implemented.
Limitation of wind tunnel use
But above all, the FIA World Council has approved an unprecedented measure: the use of wind tunnels and computer simulations will now be directly linked to on-track performance, based on the principle that the better a team is ranked in the Constructors’ Championship, the fewer aerodynamic development sessions it will be entitled to the following season! Today, aerodynamics is one of the most costly elements for teams, even though it matters little to the automotive industry in general and for spectators.
If a few years ago, some teams operated their wind tunnels 24/7, restrictions have already been implemented to cap usage at 65 sessions per week. For 2021, the baseline level will be drastically reduced to only 40 sessions.
If we take the example of the 2019 season and apply these percentages to the 2021 season, it would mean that Williams would have the right to conduct 45 wind tunnel sessions per week, while Mercedes would be limited to 36. The gap would be even more impressive from 2022 onwards, with 46 and 28 days, respectively. The goal is clearly to enable the teams at the bottom of the standings to move up in the hierarchy so that the available budget is no longer the easiest way to progress.
Establishment of transferable components
In this context of budget cuts, it was also decided to establish a list of transferable components between teams, with two distinct objectives. The first is to allow small teams to avoid the need to establish and maintain a capacity for designing, developing, and manufacturing these parts, thereby achieving substantial savings.
But as team leaders are aware of their respective creativity in bypassing rules, particularly budgetary ones, it also aims to prevent a small team from supplying a big team to circumvent budget cap restrictions.
McLaren is thus the first to publicly welcome this agreement, as Andreas Seidl, its team manager, states: « It has been clear to everyone for some time that a budget cap would be implemented. We advocated for an even lower limit to have a financially sustainable sport. It’s a big challenge for us. Adapting our working methods and having the right team size for this new cap will be a huge and difficult task, as shown by our announcement this week, which will unfortunately lead to us losing employees. Our objective is to have the right size and be the most efficient team in the future. »
Without a doubt, this opinion is shared among teams like Alfa Romeo, Williams, or Racing Point… The big question is whether this will translate into much closer racing on the track than in recent seasons.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
