Teams officially agree to a reduced cost cap for 2021

A cost-cutting package for the 2021 season has been agreed upon by Formula 1 teams, the package including a reduced $145 million cost cap.

In a vote, teams agreed to drop the originally planned cost cap of $175m by $30m to just $145m. This figure has been public knowledge for some time, but now Formula 1 officials can take the regulation to the FIA world motorsport council for the final seal of approval.

Ferrari are believed to have been the team most opposed to a reduced cost cap, with team principal Mattia Binotto publicly saying that the introduction of this cap could, "put [Ferrari] in a position of having to look at other further options for deploying our racing DNA."

Others, of which McLaren CEO Zak Brown had been the loudest voice, supported an even lower cap of just $100m.

The $145m cap is ultimately a compromise, as are the further reductions in this cap to $140m in 2022 and $135m for the following seasons up to and including 2025.

In a bid to close the gap between the race winners and backmarkers, Formula 1 has added something close to the 'balance of performance' often used in endurance racing.

Specifically, this relates to the aerodynamic development of the cars.

A defined base-level of wind-tunnel time and data will be established, and the 2020 champions will be allowed to use just 90% of that number in 2021.

Going down the order, each team will be granted 2.5% extra time, with the team finishing in last place permitted to complete 112.5% of the base number.

For 2022, this will change again, with stable regulations meaning that the victors will be down to just 70% of the base figure, while 5% increases per team would see the last place finishers up to 115%.

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