F1 budget cap hailed

FORMULA One outfit McLaren has welcomed news that teams will be limited to spending $220 million next season and even less in following years.

McLaren, which is set to sign Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo from Renault at the end of 2020, described as “crucially important” yesterday’s decision of motorsport’s governing body to approve a budget cap.

The FIA said that the cap will be scaled down to $213 million in 2022 and $205 million for 2023-2025, based on a 21-race season. It excludes driver salaries and engine costs.

“Formula 1 wins today. This is a crucially important moment for our sport,” said McLaren team chief executive Zak Brown, who had pushed for a lower cap.

“F1 has been financially unsustainable for some time, and inaction would have risked the future of F1 and its participants.”

F1’s finances have taken a significant hit with the first 10 races of the 2020 season either cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Figures released by F1 owner Liberty Media this month showed firstquarter revenue of $59 million compared with $374 million for the same period last year.

The smaller teams especially face an uncertain future, leading to discussions about reducing the budget cap.

“A uniform budget cap, in concert with more even distribution of revenue among the teams, will ensure greater competition and more people wanting to watch live and on TV,” Brown said.

“Ultimately the fans win, and if the fans win, the whole sport wins too.”