F1 budget cap "won't be perfect" this year - McLaren CEO Brown

Change your timezone:
F1 budget cap "won't be perfect" this year - McLaren CEO Brown
F1's $145million cap has been introduced for the upcoming season
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has conceded the new budget cap introduced to Formula 1 "won't be perfect" this year as fine-tuning will be required.
For this season, teams are obliged to operate at under $145million. Driver salaries and the additional three top earners are among a number of exemptions.
Whilst Brown has praised the effort in ensuring the cap is enforceable this year, he has warned the initiative will be far from the finished article in its first season.
“The FIA, the teams and Formula 1 have been working continuously on defining it and regulating it," said Brown.
"I am sure it will be learning from year one and it won’t be perfect. I think they will get it right and it will achieve what we were hoping to achieve which is a more level playing field."
The cap has been put in place to close the net spend of the wealthier manufacturers compared to the independents on the grid in the hope of closing the gaps that exist.
Brown has explained that the team has had to make changes to meet the financial requirements of the cap but the full amount would be usable in McLaren's quest to again win races.
"We were spending beyond the cap previously so we have made some adjustments to come down to the cap," he added.
"There will be learnings this year and I think there will be discrepancies, but we will move on.
"I think Andreas [Seidl, team principal] and the team have the full resources to run at the cap so spending at the cap and spending on total performance is a goal.
"We are confident the cap will achieve for the sport what we hoped it will achieve but I am sure there will be learnings throughout the year.”
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
Audi F1
British wonderkid tipped for F1 stardom handed golden opportunity
Motorsport News
Fire saviour stripped of driving permit after being caught speeding
F1 News & Gossip
Next F1 race now has a new date as Azerbaijan Grand Prix moved
Max Verstappen
'Max vs 100': Start time and how to watch live as Verstappen takes on epic Silverstone challenge

Change your timezone:
Latest News
British wonderkid tipped for F1 stardom handed golden opportunity
- 1 hour ago
F1 star issues Zak Brown apology after getting it badly wrong about Oscar Piastri
- 2 hours ago
Horner hailed as 'Hamilton wants changes' - Italian media's behind-the-scenes Ferrari exposé
- 3 hours ago
Fire saviour stripped of driving permit after being caught speeding
- Yesterday 19:45
Norris nightmare as ex Magui Corceiro watches Spanish Grand Prix debacle
- Yesterday 18:45
Next F1 race now has a new date as Azerbaijan Grand Prix moved
- Yesterday 17:57
Most read
F1 star returns after four-year ban lifted
- 29 august
FIA announce 30-place grid penalty for Kimi Antonelli at Italian Grand Prix
- 4 september
F1 Qualifying Results: 2026 Spanish Grand Prix positions and times at Madring
- 12 september
F1 Qualifying Results: Pierre Gasly takes staggering pole position at Italian Grand Prix
- 5 september
Ferrari have blown it again, only Christian Horner can fix this mess and the Lewis Hamilton problem
- 7 september
F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton rival hit with penalty as Toto Wolff blames Max Verstappen
- 6 september
Related news
McLaren reveal contingency plan over tense Norris and Piastri incident
McLaren F1 rivalry given new light as stars race to championship title
F1's best young driver...was released by McLaren this year
McLaren F1 chief issues Norris and Piastri instructions ahead of Belgian GP
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Lewis Hamilton
- Charles Leclerc
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Franco Colapinto
- Pierre Gasly
- Isack Hadjar
- Liam Lawson
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Carlos Sainz
- Kimi Antonelli
- George Russell
- Oliver Bearman
- Esteban Ocon
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Arvid Lindblad
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Valtteri Bottas
- Sergio Pérez
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page
Realtimes Network
- Authors
- Privacy and Terms
- RSS
- Contact
- Advertise
- Android
- iOS
- Publishing principles
- Corrections policy
- Ownership & funding
- F1 Tickets
- Privacy
Copyright (©) 2017 - 2026 GPFans.com
Realtimes Network












