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) /

2 of 5

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 29: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Sahara Force India F1 Team VJM11 Mercedes leads Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Renault Sport Formula One Team RS18 (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

1. More competition

The main intention behind a budget cap is to bridge the gap between the top teams and the so-called midfield/F1.5 teams. According to Auto Bild, the highest budget in 2018 (Mercedes) was more than four times the lowest budgets (Racing Point and Haas).

This difference in budget is reflected in the time differences on weekends. A budget cap will inevitably narrow down this difference between teams and maybe even give the midfield teams a slight advantage initially since they’re used to having a similar budget.

In 2018, only one of the total 63 podium places was taken by midfield team (Racing Point’s Sergio Perez in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix). This is a genuine concern for F1. Lack of competition is possibly costing fans for the sport.

Gone are the days when great drivers won races with mediocre cars. Fernando Alonso, possibly the most gifted driver on the grid, struggled for points finishes with McLaren. McLaren specifically have failed to put up a good show despite having a budget of approximately $250 million for 2018, which was the fourth highest among all teams.

It’ll be interesting to see how teams will react to the budget cap and how they’ll be able to compete with top teams for the championship.

Home/Formula One