Perez claims F1 cost cap is 'unfair’ for smaller teams as he makes Red Bull comparison
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Sergio Perez believes Formula 1’s cost cap can work against smaller teams, arguing that it has contributed to the sizeable gaps currently seen across the grid.
Speaking in Singapore to the media including GPblog, the Cadillac driver reflected on the difference between working for a front-running outfit such as Red Bull Racing and the challenges facing a newer, smaller team.
Perez explained that Red Bull were able to introduce developments regularly during his time with the team, with the focus firmly on extracting every possible performance gain.
“We are obviously a new team and a small team. I think the cost cap these days, it’s a lot more unfair for smaller teams because when I was at Red Bull, for example, we used to bring upgrades pretty much every weekend,” Perez said.
“You never heard anything about the cost cap. It was all about performance, bringing, throwing everything you could.”
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Perez explains smaller-team budget-cap challenge
While the cost cap was introduced to make Formula 1 more competitive and prevent the biggest teams from simply outspending their rivals, Perez believes smaller organisations can be at a disadvantage due to their relative lack of efficiency.
He added: “But when you are in a smaller team, because they’re not as efficient and they don’t have their methods as clear, you end up overspending so much more money.
“So, actually, the cost cap, instead of making it closer between teams, it creates these massive gaps that we currently have on the grid.”
His former team Red Bull's upgrades have worked in recent times, with Max Verstappen's incredible podium-scoring run leading to his first win of the season in Sepang. Cadillac meanwhile are pointless in their debut season, although Perez lost out on a point at Monaco after he was handed a time penalty for a start infringement.
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