The merits of the Formula 1 cost-cap are already plain to see
FINAL CORNER, CHEQUERED FLAG: The budget cap was a big game-changer for F1 and its impact is being felt just two-years since its introduction
Formula One’s cost-cap controls introduced ahead of the major regulation changes in 2022 are already working.
A spending limit of roughly $140 million was enforced by the rule-makers in 2021 as teams restarted work on building brand new cars with the intent for better, closer racing.
Previously, the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari massively outspent the rest of the teams on the grid, but that is no longer possible under the current restrictions.
However, some aspects of spending are not capped, such as driver salary and engine production.
More importantly, nor are the salaries of the three highest paid non-driver employees.
This has led to some big shake ups in the wider world of the engineering and leadership teams behind the construction and design of these machines.
Dan Fallows has earned a lot of high profile attention for the role he has played in the design of the AMR23 which Fernando Alonso piloted to a podium in Bahrain in the season opener.
The Technical Director of the team arrived from Red Bull, having been a key member of the design team for several years.
But he was not the only big name arrival to come from one of the sport’s Big Three.
Andrew Alessi was brought in alongside Fallows to take on the role of Head of Technical Operations.
A number of other members of the Red Bull engineering staff joined them at the Silverstone team
Eric Blandin was Mercedes’ chief aerodynamicist but now he too is employed by Aston Martin, who have been by far the most aggressive in their approach to poaching key staff members from the sport’s traditional powerhouses of the current era.
Their reward has been immediately obvious in 2023, which is the first car truly designed by this new set of staff.
But Williams made a similarly big move during the off-season, poaching the chief strategist at Mercedes, James Vowles, who is now their team principal.
It is hard to imagine Vowles leaving his position at Mercedes without the budget cap as the Brackley-based team would more easily be able to match any offers Williams made to the Briton, who is now surely one of their three highest earners.
On track, the budget cap has also had an impact on the spread of the cars.
For a brand new set of regulations, the field spread from last to first is relatively low.
Ideally it would be lower, but for a whole new set of rules it is far better than the sport has traditionally seen following such a shake up.
The brand new set of regulations that have arrived with these spending limits has led to a reshuffle of the pack.
Previously, Mercedes and Ferrari were able to outspend their rivals to such a degree that any mistakes made were easily solved through their spending power.
But now both have been caught out by Red Bull, and even a team such as Aston Martin has been able to bridge the gap, with Alpine perhaps not too far behind.
The gap that Red Bull does have to the chasing pack did look ominous in Bahrain, and hopefully that race will just prove an outlier.
However, the changes to wind tunnel and CFD time should give those further back a greater chance at clawing their way back to the leaders.
Due to Aston Martin finishing 7th in the Constructors championship last year, the British based team will have significantly more time to develop their car than their rivals for the first half of this year.
Lawrence Stroll’s team have been allocated 100 per cent of the allowed time in the wind tunnel and CFD, whereas Red Bull will have just 63 per cent, this equates to 320 hours vs. 202.
Seeing them make the most of this with a competitive car in 2023 is a very positive sign for the rest of the midfield pack.
Williams also competing for points in Bahrain is another huge sign of the positive impacts the budget cap is already bringing the sport.
The progress of Haas off the track is also a big moment for the sport.
The American outfit were previously unable to even reach the spending limits, but have been able to find sponsorship for 2023 that brings them up to the level of their rivals.
Having a hard limit in place makes growth for smaller teams more attainable due to the clearer target.
It becomes more worthwhile to find that extra few million to spend when it will bring them that much closer to their rivals.
The likes of McLaren have also invested heavily in their infrastructure as this also fell out of the budget cap, which should help them to compete further up the grid when their new state of the art facilities are finished.
The budget cap’s effects were always going to need time to surface on the track, but the signs are there already that, after just one year, the sport is better off by having these limitations in place.
Driver Power Rankings - Bahrain
Race Rating - Bahrain
The action out front was delivered from Fernando Alonso, whose stunning drive from p7 to p3 kept things entertaining in what was an otherwise fairly tame season opener. 3/5.
Quote of the week
“Nice to see three Red Bulls on the podium.” - Sergio Perez, during the post-Bahrain press conference, in reference to how many ex-Red Bull employees worked on designing the Aston Martin which has taken influence from the RB19.
Prediction corner
George Russell predicted Red Bull to win all 23 races this season following Max Verstappen’s dominant display in Bahrain.
Going to take an easy victory here and disagree with the Mercedes driver. Ferrari and Aston Martin should both get chances this year at a win.
Fantasy F1
The big storyline
The main storyline in Saudi Arabia will likely revolve around Ferrari’s off-track troubles behind the scenes, as well as Charles Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race.
That’s it from me for this week. Thanks to everyone who read and I hope you enjoyed.
We’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland here this Friday so happy Paddy’s day to you all and have a great weekend!