Horner sees sword of Damocles hanging over Red Bull Racing: 'Not healthy'

Christian Horner does not hope that the budget cap will get much lower than it is in 2022. According to the Brit, it is not good for morale within the teams if that limit keeps getting lower.

Bugdetcap in Formula 1

Since 2021, Formula 1 teams have been working under a budget cap. This means that the teams can only spend a maximum amount for their car. There are some exceptions, for example the costs for the engine, drivers and a few top people are not included. So the amount of forty million that Max Verstappen would receive annually does not have to be included here.

For the development of the car, however, teams now have to be more efficient with their time and money. They can no longer invent and develop all kinds of new parts, now a choice has to be made as to when something can be made and when it cannot. For the top teams, this is especially a turnaround.

F1 a communist state

Red Bull Racing operated with a much larger budget in the past, but Horner sees that it improves efficiency within his team. He does see the sword of Damocles hanging over the team with an ever decreasing budget cap. In conversation with City A.M. he argues that it should stick to a fixed amount.

''It's unhealthy to have a Sword of Damocles hanging over a team,'' Red Bull Racing's team boss says of the reduction from $145 million to $140 million by 2022. ''I don’t think we want a communist state where everybody has exactly the same budget and the same looking cars,'' the Briton said.