via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 26, 2021 McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown during the press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 26, 2021 McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown during the press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Recently, McLaren CEO Zak Brown made a veiled statement against the top F1 teams for demanding an increase in budget to account for Sprint qualifying. Sprint races are the latest addition to an F1 race weekend, held thrice in the 2021 season at Silverstone, Italy, and Brazil. These races on Saturday strike a distance of nearly 100 km to decide the grid position for the Grand Prix.
After fairly successful results of this new format, F1 has planned to roll out sprint races at six venues in the 2022 calendar.
Recent updates suggest Mercedes and Red Bull are lobbying for an extra $5 million in the budget cap to cover damages that will occur during the sprint qualifying session. However, McLaren CEO Brown doesn’t approve of this action.
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via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 10, 2021 Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner shake hands in the team principals press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
He believes the teams don’t want to let go of their pocket advantage over others on the grid.
Mercedes and Red Bull are lobbying for an increase in budget cap
Formula 1’s budget cap is reducing by $5 million to a total of $140m in 2022. However, recent reports suggest that the top teams are campaigning to keep the upper limit the same as the last season. And the reason they are citing is an addition in the number of Sprint races.
Zak Brown was in a total attack mode in his recent column on McLaren’s website. “The Saturday sprint race initiative by Formula 1 has added new viewers and raised the profile of the sport to expand its global fanbase,” said Brown.
“However, these teams continue to demand a raise to the cost cap by an inordinate amount of money, despite the clear evidence that little damage was incurred during these races last year, in a thinly veiled attempt to protect from their competitive advantage being eroded,” he added.
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The F1 community expects the number of sprint races to rise further in 2023. In the coming times, this debate will change many faces as the insiders have raised their concerns. What is your opinion on the introduction of more sprint races to the F1 calendar?
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