“Why would the drivers be capped…who actually bring the show?”: Max Verstappen critical of the FIA for the drivers’ budget cap decision
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Max Verstappen
Formula 1 has always been a very dynamic sport with the rules and regulations being continuously scrutinized and changed to accommodate everyone’s best possible interests. With the change in the leadership at the FIA Headquarters in Paris, Michael Masi, the previous F1 Race Director, has been replaced with Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas. Wittich and Freitas have entered the F1 scene to serve as Joint Race Directors, and they have proposed some implementations of their own.
To make F1 a more competitive and thrilling sport, the FIA have proposed the new rules like an expense cap for all the teams which prohibits teams with more capital to spend an enormous amount on R&D, because of which they always come out on top of the teams with lower capital. Similarly, a new proposal that has been in the talks among the higher-ups in FIA is a budget cap for the drivers’ salary.
As of now, there has been a discussion over keeping a 30 million USD cap for the salaries of the teams’ racers. This proposal is still in the making, and it is not clear how it will influence the salaries of the racers with long term contracts, such as Max Verstappen. The Red Bull racer has signed an extension with his team till 2028, and he has shared his opinions on the potential budget cap proposed by the FIA.
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Max Verstappen is against the FIA’s budget cap decision, believes it is still vague
When Max Verstappen started out in F1, he joined Toro Rosso to partner with current Ferrari racer Carlos Sainz at the age of 17. So, the Dutchman knows a few things about how challenging it is for a young racer to start his career in the highest league of motorsports. Max Verstappen was recently approached for his ideas on the proposed budget cap for the racers’ salaries, and he pointed out how the discussions still sound confusing and vague to him.
Max Verstappen said, “From my side, it’s completely wrong, because I think at the moment, F1 is becoming more and more popular, and everyone is making more and more money, including the teams and FOM. Everyone is benefiting.
“So why would the drivers with their IP rights and everything be capped, [the people] who actually bring the show and put their lives at risk? Because we do, eventually. So for me, it’s completely wrong.”
Max Verstappen also put stress on the point that the youngsters who are just starting out in F1 would find it difficult to get sponsors because of such a budget cap. He said, “In all the junior categories, if you see how many of those drivers have a sponsor, or a backer, who eventually will have a certain percentage of their income in potentially F1 or whatever, I think it’s going to limit that a lot, because they will never get their return on money.”
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)