“Where do I apply?” – F1 fans alarmed as Karun Chandhok points out the limited FIA workforce regulating the cost cap
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Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok
Formula 1 is an expensive sport, where teams spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year in order to be the fastest on track. Karun Chandhok like many other presents has talked about how the bigger teams always have an upper hand due to their exposure to more financial resources compared to the smaller ones. This created an imbalance which has lasted for decades, where a team like Red Bull works with over twice as many staff as a team such as Haas F1. To bring change and provide a more even playing field, Formula 1 and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) introduced the annual cost cap.
The cost cap came into force in 2021, setting a limit on spending for all teams, which would prevent the big teams from pouring money into the new regulations of the following season, thus providing a fairer chance for the small teams. The cost cap was set at $145 million for the 2021 F1 season with a gradual decrease over the following seasons. After the investigation of the 2021 cost cap for all teams, however, the Red Bull Racing team was proven to have broken the cost cap spending with a fine of $7 million being imposed on the Milton Keynes team and with Aston Martin being fined $450000 for a procedural breach.
The FIA was heavily criticized for the delays in publishing its findings for the cost cap measures, with experts and even teams being displeased over the reports of the 2021 season coming out in October of the next year. The delay in the sport’s governing body to announce the penalties for the two rule breakers- Red Bull and Aston Martin, was also seen with an eye of scepticism. Ex-F1 driver, Chandhok recently brought light to a potential cause for such slow decision-making.
“One team told me they had 3 times as many people for their own cost cap planning as the FIA had!”- Karun Chandhok
The Indian racing driver tweeted about the discussion in the paddock where the teams have constantly raised doubts about the FIA’s ability to manage the cost cap with few resources, and how one team mentioned, “they had 3 times as many people for their cost cap planning as the FIA had!”
The 38-year-old also advised the FIA to use the $7 million to manage the future. This raised concern among the fans on Reddit. One user replied, “Where do I apply” regarding the open vacancies for the work. While another mentioned, “No wonder this took so long!” hinting at the lack of surprise regarding the time delay.
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