A greatly reduced budget cap for the 2021 season has been agreed upon according to Formula 1’s Ross Brawn.
F1 bosses had initially agreed on a $175 million budget cap, but with the current coronavirus pandemic threatening not only the future of several teams, but the sport itself, Brawn revealed that an agreement has been reached which will see the cap lowered by $30m, to $145m.
This figure is closer to what the smaller teams have been pushing for, much to the disappointment of some of the larger outfits, namely Ferrari, which opposed such tight financial controls, but Brawn says the current situation has swayed that.
“I think the details will be going out to the teams in the next few days,” Brawn told Sky Sports F1. “There’s been a lot of consultation. And I think we’re now at the very final stages, so it will all become clear shortly.
“The budget cap’s initial objectives were a more competitive field. And I think with the situation we have now the economic sustainability of F1 is the priority.
“I think that counts as much for the big teams as it does for the small teams. And it’s become very clear from the people who stand above some of the team principals and management of these teams, the message is clear, we’ve got to cut costs.
“We started on $175m. That was a long battle to get it there. And with the current crisis, we’re now going to start at $145m. And the discussion really is how much further down can we drive it the next few years?”
Brawn meanwhile has also expanded on F1’s plans to create a ‘biosphere’ which will see team personnel tested every two days to ensure racing can begin in relative safety.
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