F1 warned it faces cost cap impossibility

McLaren

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F1 warned it faces cost cap impossibility

Christian Horner has warned teams may not finish the season

Sam Hall

Thursday 2 June 2022 13:50

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McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has conceded it is "impossible" to adhere to the cost cap this year.

The sport has not been immune from the current real-world cost-of-living crisis caused in part by the pandemic and worsened by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Although McLaren was one of the loudest voices for introducing a cost cap, the team is now calling for this figure to be raised from its current level of $140million.

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“The fact is we are in the middle of the season now and everyone has prepared for the season in order to somehow run at the cap," explained Seidl.

"[With] these exceptional circumstances and rises, it is pretty much impossible to still stick at the cap then.

“And that is why I think it is just fair to discuss the solutions between all the teams.

“That means from our point of view that it would be fair to increase the cap, maybe linked to these specific costs that have increased significantly.”

Asked if he was willing to put a number to any potential increase, Siedl added: “We are obviously discussing several million here because that is the difference we see in freight costs for example, but it is still an ongoing discussion.”

McLaren hopeful of "fair solution"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned that without an increase to the cost cap, teams could be forced to miss the last races of the year.

This opinion is not shared by everyone, however, with Alpine counterpart Otmar Szafnauer claiming teams could make the necessary savings by slashing development budgets.

Mindful of both positions, Seidl explained: “It is clear for us that sticking to the cost cap is an absolute necessity for the sport, for us.

"It is not a secret that we were pushing quite a lot for introducing this budget cap and also pushing towards the numbers we have now.

“At the same time, it is important that if exceptional circumstances arise, like the ones we have this year - just look at our utility bills and the unbelievable increase of freight costs - it must be possible to have a discussion together with all teams and the FIA in order to find a fair solution."