Cost cap essential for prospective new Formula 1 teams - Carey

A cost cap of $175m (£144m) has been agreed for 2021 - although it does not include key elements such as marketing costs, driver salaries and any fees associated with engines - and it will be in place for five seasons up to and including '25.

The number is now fixed and is not part of the ongoing negotiations about future rules, where there will be a redistribution of income.

Carey says that potential new entrants have said F1 has to provide a healthy business model.

"Clearly one of the goals in terms of the cost cap is to create a healthier sport," he said in a call with Wall Street analysts. "We've talked about the competitive goals, but it is equally important that the cost cap creates a business model that is healthy and growing and positive for our existing teams, and potential new teams coming into it.

"That has been enforced as we've had discussions with potential new teams.

"All have looked at steps in terms of cost discipline, and probably a more balanced revenue distribution, as being cornerstones to creating what they think is an exciting opportunity."

Despite concerns that teams could "trick" the budget cap and slow progress over the 2021 rules package, Carey says existing teams have embraced a limitation on spending.

"One of the real positives is the evolving attitude towards it. We feel quite positive about where we are with the cost cap. In many ways teams, some of whom had issues or concerns going in, are increasingly supportive," said Carey.

"By and large, right now the support is quite broad, I think everybody believes it's an important element to the future of the sport.

"So I do think of the support, and the teams really are behind it, as being an important cornerstone to building the sport going forward."

Carey is confident that F1 and the FIA will be able to police the cost cap.

A 2020 "dry run" will act as checks on spending with all the teams, despite the fact the cap will not have been put in place before '21.

"We wouldn't have done it if we didn't think it was enforceable," said Carey.

"There's no reason to [not] head down a path. You can account for everything, what you really need to make sure is that you have access to the right information to do the accounting, and that's just about us being disciplined and firm about what we need.

"We've addressed that. We're going to use 2020, all the teams will participate in what I guess you could call effectively a dry run.

"The cost cap won't actually be enforced with consequences until 2021, but, in 2020, what we really are actually going to go through is shaking out the bugs of accounting for the costs."