McLaren: "That is the biggest worry for us, to be honest"

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has expressed his concerns over 'A-teams' in Formula 1 being able to work their way around the cost cap in 2021, saying they could use smaller teams to outsource the development of "listed parts".

From next year onwards, teams are only allowed to spend $175 million a year on the performance of their respective cars. The idea is this would bring the grid closer together, with the biggest teams currently out-spending smaller teams at the back of the grid by hundreds of millions a year.

However, with the working relationships some of the big teams have with these smaller teams, selling them different parts on the car, this could be turned into an advantage. Seidl is very wary of this.

“For us it’s more important to look at what’s happening for [20]21 regulations and beyond,” the German was quoted by Crash.net last Friday at the second test in Barcelona when quizzed on the regulations.

“I think it’s even more clear or restricted what is allowed in terms of a working relationship between two teams and for us that’s [what] the most important thing is.

“It needs to be ensured and the FIA needs to make sure they are on top of this game, that the co-operation between two teams is first of all always within the regulations, and doesn’t allow the big team for example to benefit from things that are happening at a smaller team related to these so-called listed parts."

Smaller teams will not have to make any changes to their infrastructure in 2021 as they operate well under the cost cap as it stands already, and this could be used by big teams to have them take over some of their development tasks. This would be a way to work around the regulations.

“This is something that we are worried about and that is our focus on the discussions we have with the FIA to make sure this is properly policed as that would obviously go against the regulations.

“It would help, let’s say, an A-team, having a co-operation to go around the regulations to increase their resources beyond the idea of the budget cap and that is the biggest worry for us, to be honest.”