F1 star suggests costly factor behind DECLINE for major rivals' dominance

Thumbnail for article regarding FIA meeting with teambosses — Photo: © IMAGO

Latest F1 News

F1 star suggests costly factor behind DECLINE for major rivals' dominance

Race winner Oscar Piastri discussed the impact of the F1 budget cap

Jack Burgess

Tuesday 23 July 2024 13:59

Oscar Piastri believes the new budget restrictions are helping to narrow the gap between customer cars and Formula 1's elite.

Since the turn of the century, the sport has seen its fair share of single-team dominance, with a recurring pattern of one constructor nailing the new regulations and sailing away into the distance - with Red Bull being the latest examples of this.

F1 HEADLINES: Horner takes SLY dig at Red Bull rival as Hamilton involved in spicy exchange

Article continues under video

READ MORE: FIA announce Verstappen penalty verdict after pivotal Hungary incident However, typically, it is works teams such as Ferrari and Mercedes that have been successful, as the advantage of having creative control over every aspect of their car enables them to crush their customer opponents, who, forced to borrow parts from their wealthier counterparts, are usually left fitting square pegs into round holes.

In an attempt to level the playing field - and control the spiralling costs of competing in the sport - F1 introduced a budget cap, which restricts the amount of money teams can spend building their car.

Michael Schumacher dominated the sport with Ferrari for 5 years

How is the budget cap impacting F1?

Since the implementation of the budget cap, McLaren, who themselves use Mercedes engines, have thrived, and are now in a championship battle with Red Bull for the constructors' title.

Hungarian Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri has now said that the budget cap has allowed his team, and other teams like Aston Martin and Haas, to compete more fairly with the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari.

Speaking during the Hungarian GP press conference, he said: "Yeah, I mean, I don't think you need to be a works team to win an F1...I think it's got much less significance than it did. So, yeah, I think you can be a customer team, so to speak, and put up a really strong fight."

Formula 1 Oscar Piastri