Teams Explain: How to turn introduction of the cost cap into a winning strategy

As part of a strategy to bring Formula 1 teams closer together and thus make the championship battle more exciting, the much-discussed cost cap will be introduced this year. Whether it will actually dent Mercedes' dominance remains to be seen, but it is clear that different teams are dealing with the financial constraints in different ways. 

Cyril Abiteboul, former Renault team principal, explained the introduction of the cost cap last year as follows, quoted by Autosport.com: ‘It's a new way of thinking, a new way of doing things, that should reward planning, that should reward management of the resources, management of the talents, management of good execution, rather than only recognising just the ability to spend the most in this sport. … It's a competitive paradigm of moving away from who is spending the most, to who is spending the best.’

Efficiency becomes the key

Andy Green, Aston Martin's Technical Director, also sees efficiency as the new key to success in the premier class of motor racing. Green identifies an advantage here for his own team, which has long been proud to call itself one of the most efficient teams on the grid. "I think those teams now are dinosaurs, and you've got to be small, lean, efficient”, Green said of the bigger teams on the grid, also to Autosport.com. "And I think that's our strength. I think, as far as the financial side of the regulations are concerned, they're coming to us, they're definitely going to allow us to be able to compete with what used to be big teams because they can't be big teams anymore.”

Mercedes looks for the fray in the regulations

A different strategy is being pursued at Mercedes, as technical director James Allison explains. The Silver Arrows are still mainly scouring the new regulations to best understand what is left of the financial room for manoeuvre: ‘First we have to try to understand what exactly is in the regulations’, Allison begins. ‘Second of all we try to find every opportunity that was presented within that set of regulations, because every regulation brings opportunities once you can see exactly what they are saying, and then to adapt our operation and our company so that we can make the most from it and to be ready for the challenge of this new era of F1 operating under a cost cap.’