Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has warned Formula 1 against “cementing in” an advantage for top teams by including critical infrastructure projects in the current cost cap.
While the cost cap has been lauded for bringing teams closer together and making Formula 1 more sustainable from a financial perspective, the traditional top teams with their existing infrastructure continue to enjoy an advantage.
With most performance-related infrastructure projects included in the cost cap, there’s little room for teams to catch up without making drastic compromises elsewhere. An exception is the construction of a new wind tunnel, which has been specifically exempted from the cost cap and which Aston Martin has made use of.
Investment cap at $36 million in four years
But other big purchases needed for midfield teams to catch up fall under the cost cap and the associated additional $36 million in capital expenditures over four years between 2022 and 2025.
Teams like Alpine and Williams have already raised the issue in recent F1 Commission meetings, with Alpine team boss Szafnauer urging F1 not to neglect infrastructure compared to teams like Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.
“We just have to get the FIA to allow a certain amount of infrastructure that all teams need to be competitive or to level the playing field without considering the cost cap,” says Szafnauer. “Otherwise you would create an inequality in infrastructure because we have a cap on investment costs.”
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Szafnauer argues that certain projects will be all but mandatory for all teams from 2026 due to the new engine regulations. Changing the hybrid layout with a much more powerful MGU-K and getting rid of the MGU-H system requires Alpine to build a new transmission test bench.
If this project stays under budget, it would severely impact teams’ ability to develop their cars elsewhere. “Part of the investment cost cap has to be spent on the regulations,” explains Szafnauer.
“For example, for the new regulations for the 2026 season, we need a new gearbox dyno. The gearbox dyno we have now isn’t enough for that, so we have to spend that money. And when you spend the money on a new gearbox dyno, you have not enough to do other things.”
“So the FIA - and we are working with them – have to allow some of the infrastructure that is required for everyone to be outside of the cost ceilings. They allowed it for the Aston Martin wind tunnel, otherwise you would never buy a new wind tunnel. If the investment cost cap is 36 million, a wind tunnel will cost 70 million.”