Formula 1 budget cap: How would it affect the sport?

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 23: Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene, Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner in the Team Principals Press Conference during practice for the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 23, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 23: Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene, Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

“The rich keep getting richer” is probably the best way to describe the financial situation of Formula 1 teams, namely the top three. How would a budget cap change that?

The top three teams in Formula 1, which are Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, have noticeably used their financial superiority to their advantage to make championship attempts. However smaller teams such as Racing Point, Haas and Sauber have suffered from relatively poor performances due to inadequate financial resources to compete with the top-tier teams.

Even former giants such as Williams and McLaren have suffered the same plight in the recent times, and now both team principals Zak Brown of McLaren and Claire Williams of Williams back a budget cap to be enforced in the sport.

Teams such as Mercedes and Ferrari have openly admitted that a budget cap would erase their advantage, and they have continually opposed this. However, Ross Brawn, the head of sporting division of Liberty Media, the relatively new owners of Formula 1, has suggested that the budget will officially be made into a rule in 2021 and will lightly be followed starting from 2019 itself.

This particular rule/proposal has created a divide in the fanbase. In this article, we look into the effects of a budget cap in Formula 1.

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