Formula One was set to introduce new rules in 2021 aimed at improving competition and elevating the fan experience—including implementing a $175 million budget cap for teams.
The ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has thrown a spanner into the works however, with F1 organizers in March stating that the new rules would be postponed until 2022.
Now the organizers have come out with a proposal to further reduce the budget cap, initially by $30M to a new cap of $145M in 2021, which is to be followed in future seasons by further reductions that still need to be discussed.
The $145M cap was decided upon on Monday following a meeting between F1 CEO Chase Carey, F1 Managing Director of Motorsport Ross Brawn, and FIA President Jean Todt.
Ross Brawn
“We started at $175M, that was a long battle to get it there,” Brawn told Sky Sports F1 in an interview Monday. “With the current crisis we’re now going to start at $145M and the discussion really is how much further we can drive (it down) over the next few years.”
Brawn also said that there will be more prize money awarded to midfielders to help further reduce the budget gap between them and top teams like Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG.
Teams will still need to agree to the lower cap. Ferrari is thought to be the only team not in favor of it because of the job cuts the team may have to make to reach it.
Other measures F1 is looking to introduce to shake up the current rules include simplifying the aerodynamics to make overtaking easier and thus the racing closer, as well as new sustainability measures to make the sport carbon-neutral by the end of the decade.
