“A Year Old Ferrari Wouldn’t Be Faster Than Our Car”- Steiner Rubbishes Horner’s F1 Budget Cap Alternative

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Christian Horner’s suggestions on the budget cap are irrelevant in the current scenario. Steiner highlighted the issues faced by the smaller teams and backed the smaller teams for a better budget cap.

Steiner on Horner’s F1 budget cap substitution idea

The 2021 F1 financial regulations have been a regular topic of discussion for the past few weeks. The current budget caps stand at $175m which F1 will enforce from next season. However, many of the midfield and smaller teams want the cap reduced due to the current Coronavirus crisis. Furthermore, the smaller teams want a lower cap to bridge the gap to the top 3 teams.

The main objective of the budget cap was to level the playing field and prevent the ‘big 3’ from spending an exorbitant amount on car development. According to the latest reports, teams have agreed to lower the cap to $150m. However, the midfield wants a cap near the $100m or $125m.

The top 3 teams want a separate budget cap for engine suppliers and customer teams. Furthermore, the bigger teams argue that a smaller cap will lead to layoffs at the factory. Recently, Christian Horner suggested abandoning the cap and claimed cost drivers were the bigger entity to be considered.

Horner also suggested lending customer teams a year-old car to mitigate R&D costs. Steiner gave his thoughts on Horner’s idea. Speaking to Ziggo Sport, Steiner said:

“That plan is not really relevant anymore, because all teams have already found a way to work”

“To be honest; we don’t need extra money, but we want the big teams to work on a smaller budget. That way we can be more competitive.”

We would then be customer teams and so the larger teams would actually manipulate our performance, as we would be driving a one-year-old car”,

“They will always stay ahead of us. With a budget cap, we still don’t reach the budgets of the larger teams, but we are closer.”

When asked if a year-old Ferrari was faster than a newer Haas, Steiner disagreed. The Italian asserted that an Australia Spec Haas would be faster than an Abu Dhabi Spec Ferrari from the previous season.