"Top teams like Mercedes will get up to 40 percent less time in wind tunnel'

A leaked letter from Liberty Media to the teams in Formula 1 states not only that the intention is to lower the budget ceiling even further in the coming years, but also that the top teams will be given less time in the wind tunnel and that there may be a limit on the development costs of the engine.

The German Car, Motor und Sport already came up with the rumour a few weeks ago that Formula 1 was considering setting time limits for the use of the wind tunnel. The BBC now also knows that this has actually been proposed to the teams in the royal class of motor racing. How much time a team is allowed to use the windtunnel depends on the result in the constructors championship.

Less time for top teams in wind tunnel

The teams that manage to finish in the first three will only have access to the wind tunnel and associated computer data 70 percent of the time. The team that finishes fourth will get 80 percent of the time and then will work up in five percent increments. The team that finishes tenth and last will thus be allowed to use 110 percent of the currently available time. So it is plausible that in 2021 Williams will have 40 percent more time for aerodynamic research and development than Mercedes, Red Bull Racing and Ferrari.

Furthermore, in the lower case of the letter from Liberty Media it says that the height of the budget ceiling in 2021 will depend on how many Grands Prix there will be on the calendar. If there are still 21 GP weekends on the calendar next season, the agreed 145 million dollars per season will be maintained, but with each race more or less one million more or less will be added.

Mercecedes must be patient

There is also a chance that a limit on the cost of engine development will come. Mercedes in particular has been hammering away and has now been informed that this will be discussed 'at a later date'.