Honda calls for a cap on team budgets

The FIA has undertaken a cost reduction initiative with a 10-year engine freeze. However, the chiefs of Honda Racing are calling for a completely different regulation.

They believe that the FIA should introduce a cap on team budgets, rather than limiting teams on what they can do with their cars.

Honda Racing’s CEO Nick Fry recently discussed with the new team principal of the Japanese team, Ross Brawn, about the directions of F1. Both believe that a budget cap is a realistic solution to the issue of costs in F1.

Ross and I believe that a cap on overall team budgets is something that should be seriously considered. What we are seeing at the moment is an increase in costs, particularly when looking at the accounts of a certain British team, Fry said.

We support a large number of proposals for restrictions at the aerodynamic level, but there is a concern that this money will be diverted elsewhere. It will go to the driver’s engineer as salaries or fees, or to another part of the car, but it will not necessarily reduce the total bill that a team has to pay.

« These are the reasons why we believe we should opt for a cap on the overall budget. Even though it will be difficult to control, we believe it is achievable. »

Brawn added: « The concept of a budget cap was brought up a few years ago but was considered ridiculous. But if you look at the weaknesses of the counterarguments and the alternative solutions that have been proposed, you wonder if capping the budget isn’t the best solution. It gives everyone the opportunity to achieve their goals. »

Although there are obvious difficulties in establishing this system, such as finding ways to prevent circumventing such a cap, Brawn believes that the challenges will prove even tougher for the FIA if it seeks to impose new regulations on aerodynamics. And this is just one example among many others.

« I’m not saying that a capped budget is the easiest to implement, but it’s not proving to be more difficult than the other solutions that will need to be applied. »

Fry admitted that it would take a lot of work within a team to determine what could be capped at a budget and what would not.

« You need to think about what is included and what will not be featured. Are your marketing managers included? And there are other scenarios! »