Big teams against small teams: War over budget limit threatens in Formula 1 | NOW

“This is force majeure”, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto firmly stated on Saturday morning in Monaco. The Italian has joined the ‘Camp Horner’; the formation from Maranello also wants the budget limit of 130 million euros to be stretched.

Since last year, the premier class has been working with a limit, which was set to control the soaring costs and to create a more level playing field.

Only marketing and hospitality costs, the costs for engines, travel costs for staff, and the salaries of the drivers and the three highest-paid team members are excluded.

5% leeway

Inflation, rising freight costs and rising energy prices are making it difficult for the teams to stay within the amount in 2022. Horner dropped a bombshell in Barcelona a week ago by stating that a few teams will not see the end of the season because they can no longer spend money.

The team boss of Max Verstappen wants to nuance that statement on Saturday. “I meant teams would have to miss those races to get to those races,” Horner says. An incomplete grid is very unlikely; teams can exceed the budget limit.

“There is a kind of leeway of 5 percent, but then you risk a penalty. That counts as a minor violation. We are going over 130 million anyway. And we are not the only ones,” says Binotto. “But we don’t know exactly what the penalty is,” Horner added.

‘Now there is inflation and they want to adjust it immediately’

While the larger teams are aligned, so are the smaller teams. Fred Vasseur of Alfa Romeo and Otmar Szafnauer of Alpine are in the other camp.

The inflation argument in particular is easily brushed aside. “Inflation was already there when we prepared our budget in November,” argues Szafnauer. “The freight turned out to be a bit more expensive than expected, but everything has been included in the budget. And we would like to keep it that way.”

“During the talks about the budget, inflation was discussed in detail. There is a mechanism in it that has to absorb it. Now there is inflation and they want to adjust it immediately. That is wrong.”

Anyone can turn off the wind tunnel

Force majeure is an important word in the discussion. The top teams clearly think inflation is ‘force majeure’, but the smaller teams disagree.

“We already knew in November that this could happen, it is not force majeure,” says Vasseur. “And we just discussed that we wouldn’t adjust the limit after a few races.”

It is clear to the Alfa Romeo team boss where the teams can cut costs. “Put less money into the development of the car. Turn off the wind tunnel and don’t bring updates every race. Anyone can do that.”

Mercedes has few spare parts

But according to Horner, there are few points on which his team can save. “You can’t lay off more people. We have already said goodbye to a lot of staff who worked with us for a long time. We are limited in what we can do.”

Mercedes chief engineer Andrew Shovlin even fears his team will be unable to get a car on track at some point. “We’re a lot tighter in spare parts than usual. You’re really afraid of bigger crashes because we’re not sure if we can repair the car.”

Horner thinks it is especially unnatural for a Formula 1 team that so much attention must be paid to costs. “We now have more people in the financial department than are working on the development of the car. It should not become World Cup accountancy.”

But for Vasseur it is very simple. “It shouldn’t matter if several teams can’t stay within the budget limit. Then they don’t participate. Rules are rules.”