Christian Horner and Toto Wolff set to receive hefty bonuses as F1 teams agree to 2023 Rule Changes

F1 announce extensive bonuses for teams agreeing to 2023 rule changes.

Christian Horner and Toto Wolff set to receive hefty bonuses as F1 teams agree to 2023 Rule Changes

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner

Formula One introduced a stringent budget cap in order to limit the expenditure of the top teams and level out the playing field. The budget cap first came into effect in 2021 when the expenditure of each team was limited to $145 Million. A substantial downgrade from the top teams’ annual expenditure of over $450 Million.

The intended result of the budget cap is yet to be seen. While the expenditure of all teams has certainly levelled, the capabilities of all the cars are still vastly different. In 2021, F1 introduced the concept of sprint races, a 100km race with no compulsion for a change of tires and a massive impact on the main Grand Prix. F1 held sprint races at 3 venues in 2021 and 2022.

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For the second season with sprint races, F1 teams were allowed an extra $150,000 per race. Above this, teams were also given an extra $100,000 if a car was damaged in the sprint. This increase in the budget was required due to the added costs of running more racing laps. It enabled the teams to run extra racing laps without the risk of over-spending.

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Related: ‘You cannot blow the budget cap in F1,’ says Guenther Steiner

What’s new in Formula One for 2023?

Formula One
Formula One

With the sprint races being a massive success, F1 has decided to expand on the number of sprint races for this year. Meaning, 6 sprint races will take place in 2023 as opposed to the 3 races which took place in 2022 and 2021 each. The addition of more races brings with it the challenge of managing expenses. To overcome this issue, F1 has announced an increase in the allowance.

For 2023, F1 teams will be allowed an extra $300,000 per sprint, bringing the total to $1.8 Million over the course of 6 races compared to just $450,000 for 2022. The FIA announced, “The World Council also approved several updates and clarifications to the 2023 and 2024 Financial Regulations, including an increase of the forfeit allowance amount for each Sprint session from $150k to $300k from 2023 onwards, and the elimination of any subsequent adjustment for accident damage sustained during the Sprint sessions.”

The new spending regulations concerning the sprint races do not permit any extra expenditure due to damage as it did previously. While sprint races have been exhilarating to watch in their past 2 iterations, fans are concerned that 6 sprint races per season might dilute their significance and cause unwanted disturbances in the hunt for the Championship.

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