27/09/2017
NEWS STORY
In the eyes of many, certainly in terms of the sport's powers that be, a limit on what teams are allowed to spend is the only means not only of preventing costs spiralling out of control but levelling the playing field to the point where the smaller teams have an increased chance of success.
While the smaller teams favour the idea, the bigger teams obviously don't, and although some progress has been made over the years in many ways the status quo remains with the paddock divided between the haves and have nots.
Arguably one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport, and certainly Britain's most successful team, McLaren is now in the netherworld, not exactly a minnow but also no longer a serious title contender.
Consequently, it comes as no surprise to hear that the Woking team is increasingly seeing things from the perspective of the Saubers, Haas' and Force Indias, with executive director Zak Brown admitting the team is all for a budget cap.
"Speaking for McLaren, we're a fan of budget caps," he said recently. "We think it's important. Most other sports have it and it will equal the playing field.
"We recognise that we're one of the four teams that get special payments, that might mean some compromise," he admitted, referring to the fact that the Woking outfit, along with Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes receives a special bonus payments which in recent years has seen the team receive more prize money than teams which have consistently out-performed it, "but we feel if the sport is healthier ultimately that will benefit all of us.
"We're a great racing team," he insisted. "There's lots of great racing teams and we want to race and have the same chance as everyone else."
Told that the cap being mentioned is $150m, the American said: "That sounds in the right ballpark.
"You get into a lot of detail," he continued, "how do you handle CapEx, executive salaries, overhead etcetera, etcetera, so it's quite complex - but the concept of the budget cap, yes, the number of $150million seems to be in the right ballpark."
Naturally, Red Bull's Christian Horner doesn't agree.
"I think we see things slightly differently," he said. "We're fully in favour of reducing costs. I think the problem if you just introduce a budget cap with current regulations is that we'll end up employing teams of accountants to find smart ways of circumventing the current set of rules. So, I think the biggest cost driver are the technical regulations - and I think FIA, FOM need to get those under control."