F1 cost cap has "bugs to iron out" - Ross Brawn

F1 budget cap

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F1 cost cap has "bugs to iron out" - Brawn

Cap was initially introduced in 2021

Ian Parkes

Sunday 4 December 2022 18:30

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Ross Brawn believes F1's budget cap still has "bugs to iron out" but feels the magic of the sport would have been lost if a standardised route had instead been preferred.

The cap has now been in place for two seasons, ensuring the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari could no longer spend their way out of trouble, whilst for those at the back, it has provided financial stability and longevity.

The recent results of the 2021 cap highlighted a few grey areas, with Red Bull caught out as it breached the $145million limit by almost $2m, leading to a $7m fine and a 10 percent reduction in its aerodynamic testing for a period of 12 months.

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F1's outgoing managing director motorsports Brawn has no doubt the sport had to introduce a cap, with the alternative highly unappealing.

"It was key that we improved the racing in an authentic way," said Brawn. "How do you do that? You need to give every team an equal opportunity.

"Part of that is financial resource. For many years, there were three or four teams on the grid who had significantly more financial resource than the rest. That doesn’t create a situation to achieve close margins.

"The competitors must construct their own cars - that is the DNA of F1. But it is a huge challenge, and in the past, the more money you had, the better car you could build.

"It would have been an easy route to have standard cars, same engines, spec parts - you get a close, competitive field, but then you lose the magic of F1.

"The cost cap has created an environment where you have a limited spend and the smartest people win."

Brawn is confident the margins between the front and back "are going to be much tighter" as the years progress, with the cap limit dropping to $135m for the next three seasons.

He added: "I think the cost cap is a very significant step for F1.

"It’s got bugs to iron out but considering the complexity of introducing such a system, it’s fantastic what the team at F1 and the FIA have achieved since it was introduced last year."