Formula 1 is a cutthroat business. That being said, it is also one of the most rewarding arenas where hard work and smart work pay off. But the name of the game is to catch your rival off guard. Naturally, what ensues is a game of cat and mouse. But while some have emerged victorious here, others have been left stagnated. What really matters is how you go about with your approach to rise to the top. Some like dragging others down, whilst others focus on building themselves up. Red Bull, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin are a case in point.

The cost-cap was touted as a revolutionary tool to close the gap between the top teams and the back-markers. But ever since it’s inception, not a lot has changed. The gap has come down, performance-wise to an extent, however, the bulk of the praise for this goes to the new 2022 regulations. What’s more, the cost-cap has proved to be an ineffective machinery due to its loop-holes as exposed by Red Bull last year.

Why Aston Martin beat the rest

Aston Martin has made a huge jump. From seventh last year to serious podium contenders this season. But has the cost-cap helped them achieve this? Ex-Ferrari team manager, Peter Windsor doesn’t think so.

He was quoted by F1Maximaal.com as saying, “If you look at a team that has successfully made the step from midfield to the top, it’s Aston Martin. How did they do that? By spending more money, not by spending less money. You can’t say that Aston Martin has improved thanks to the budget cap, how could anyone say that? It’s just the opposite.” [translated via Google Translate]

But while Aston Martin are an example showing why the cost-cap is ineffective, Windsor thought it right to also expose it’s fatality apropos the F1 grid. He said, “It is precisely the teams that kept nagging about the budget limits that are still not performing well. AlphaTauri, Williams and Haas, for example, are still where they were before, not much has actually changed.”

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The cost-cap has seen its fair share of the spotlight, however, behind it all lies a hollow shell of an idea.

Windsor exposes the farce behind the cost-cap

The cost-cap aims to limit the spending power of the big teams. However, even though on paper this seemed like a potent idea back when it was suggested, the ground realities of the sport have held the concept back.

Windsor explained, “It’s about the idea that Formula 1 seems to be saving money, but as long as they have ridiculously large motorhomes in the paddock, and as long as the drivers and engineers get the salaries they get, it hasn’t made much of a difference. As far as I’m concerned, the budget ceiling is more for the stage, and we should never have had it.”

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Should the cost-cap be scrapped completely?