Haas would not be in F1 this year without budget cap - Guenther Steiner

Haas

Haas would not be in F1 this year without budget cap - Steiner

Haas operate with one of the smallest budgets in the field

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Saturday 13 February 2021 16:00

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Guenther Steiner believes Haas would not be in Formula 1 this season if it was not for the new budget cap.

The team run on one of the smallest budgets in the sport and buy as many parts as legally allowed by the sporting and technical regulations in order to compete.

Steiner revealed ahead of the delayed start to last season there was uncertainty about the team's future, while he was forced to fend off suggestions of a possible sale throughout the tail-end of the year.

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Speaking to GPFans Global, Steiner said the cap will stop the sport from becoming a losing financial battle.

"Without the budget cap and the new prize fund distribution, I don't think we would be here this year," said Steiner.

"It doesn't make sense for a small team to pump money in because you cannot catch up to the big ones. You would have to invest too much money which we will never get back. There is no point.

"At some point, you say, 'Hey, I have had my fun,' you move on and do something else fun because there is a lot of things you can do with the money that is fun.

"With the budget cap, if you do a good job, you can break even and if the sport goes well commercially, you could even make a business out of it. It is a business now but it is a losing business for most of us here.

"The aim is always to break even or to make money - that would be the best thing. So I think without the budget cap, it would be very difficult that we would be here for the future."

The budget cap will mean a convergence of resource difference between the top manufacturers and the smaller, 'independent' teams.

Steiner revealed that the previous disparity between the podium challengers and teams like Haas led team owner Gene Haas to explicitly warn of a withdrawal.

"He [Haas] said it is so difficult, impossible to catch up to the big boys because the money is just too big," added Steiner.

"We are not a car manufacturer, we cannot justify the amount of money that they spend, which is fine. It wasn't critical, it was just honesty.

"If it is different, if you can get it done different, fine, otherwise, we need to look for other things to do in life."