According to Liberty Media – the owners of F1 – teams are in general agreement to impose a budget cap.
Team levies
The original proposal – which is being backed by Renault – would see a proposed figure of £150million levied on each team.
Budget consistency
Traditionally, F1’s smaller teams have backed this initiative; Renault, however, would like to see a cap introduced across the board to reduce the widely different budgets that have become the norm in the sport. The car giant is all in favour of reducing the cost between teams, saying that the current difference in a team’s income and expenditure is vast and that this has a knock-on effect on team achievement.
Level playing field
Renault has also said that it not only backs a cost cap but would be in favour of other suggestions to bring down the cost, including a revision of the rules. That way, the team-focused sport can still be enjoyed at race weekends such as Britain’s F1 Paddock Club via specialist hospitality providers such as https://edgeglobalevents.com/f1-paddock-club/britain/.
Being realistic
Ensuring teams remain financially viable is essential to the health and longevity of Formula One and the enjoyment of visitors; Renault has taken a strong stance on the issue of teams constantly losing money and its impact on both teams and the sport as a whole.
Income generation
According to Renault, teams should be moving towards self-sufficiency to avoid having to be bailed out and kept alive by financial input. Examples include Force India and Manor, both only able to survive with extra funds being ploughed into them.
Renault’s position
Since re-joining in 2016, Renault has been investing in its F1 team. If a budget cap is introduced then Renault believes that it would encourage the growth of smaller teams, allowing them to contend with big names such as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
Slow but sure
The Renault team is focused upon working its way up the championship. It believes that – as in the case of Force India mentioned above – this can be achieved with similar resources and therefore avoid the need to throw vast sums of money at it. It hopes that this strategy will assist it in taking on the big names with far more substantial budgets.