The Formula 1 cost cap introduced in 2021 has now been capped to a $135 million restriction, in terms of money that can be spent by F1 teams during a championship season. Naturally, with a tighter budget cap, certain teams like Red Bull now have excess funds that can be used elsewhere. According to ex-Motocross racer Pit Beirer, their alliance with Red Bull has paid massive dividends, owing to the cost cap and the Milton Keynes outfit‘s inflow of technology and funds into their own MotoGP program.
Beirer explained (as quoted by Formulapassion.it), “The introduction of the budget cap in F1 has freed up resources for us, which has received an enormous opening. With this friendship and this partnership, we were able to use their know-how. And what F1 has learned about aerodynamics is a thousand times superior to MotoGP.”
Their alliance, which began in 2023, has already started paying dividends, as Brad Binder finished fourth overall in the MotoGP standings last year. The F1 cost cap was brought to level the playing field in the sport.
During an interview with the Swiss at Speedweek, KTM’s Pit Beirer spoke about a collaboration with Red Bull: “The introduction of the budget cap in F1 has freed up resources for us, which has received an enormous opening.” https://t.co/spAPCheHxN
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With a set amount of money that could be spent on car development and overall F1 operations, the sport hoped to cut the disparity between the behemoths of the sport like Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes as compared to the minnows like Haas and Williams. Since 2021, however, the pecking order has remained relatively unchanged.
Beirer also commented on how the influx of Red Bull’s men, trained in F1, made a huge difference to their own bike’s development. “The F1 technicians look at a motorbike with completely different eyes from ours, and they have literally opened our eyes to many things,” concluded the German.
Formula 1 cost cap – a win for motorsport in general
KTM’s factory Red Bull entry in MotoGP has really exemplified how Formula 1 really is the pinnacle of racing innovation. Since the arrival of Adrian Newey, in the domain of bike racing, the team’s understanding of aerodynamic concepts has grown exponentially. As a result, for 2024, Beirer already claims to have built a ‘rocket ship‘.
The benefit of the cost-cap phenomenon isn’t only restricted to Red Bull. Teams like Mercedes and Ferrari have been able to divert their excess funds into other racing ventures as well. Most notably, the Ferrari 499p hypercar (Ferrari’s first proper attempt at endurance racing since 1973) won the 100th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year.
Zak Brown believes a McLaren World Endurance Championship entry is still very much on the cards.https://t.co/KSiHkMbHc7
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) January 5, 2023
The F1 cost cap isn’t restricted only to the amount of money a team can spend on R&D. The cost cap also includes the salaries of the employees, as well as other logistical expenses.
Naturally, many top-tier technicians and engineers have moved from the F1 operations to their other sister racing teams, benefitting the global motorsport arena as a whole. While the cost cap seems to be bringing up the standards of racing elsewhere, in Formula 1, much still needs to be achieved to really make a case for the concept’s success.
