Ferrari's €2.5m damage bill highlights F1 cost cap problem
Ferrari says a 2.5 million euro damage bill so far this season shows why Formula 1 needs a potential rethink about cost cap limits.


F1’s top teams have faced a big headache this year trying to cut back their spending to get below the $145 million cost cap limit that has been introduced.
Both Mercedes and Red Bull talked about the pain they had to go through over the winter to lay off staff that they could no longer afford to keep.
But as the season has worn on, there has been further concern about the complications that outfits are facing when it comes to paying out for unexpected damage.
Valtteri Bottas’ crash at Imola prompted Mercedes to fear it would have to cut back on development updates, while Red Bull was unhappy about a $1.8 million repair bill it faced from Max Verstappen’s accident at the British Grand Prix.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto suggested after the Hungarian GP, when Charles Leclerc was taken out by Lance Stroll at the first corner, that rivals whose drivers are guilty of causing crash should pay for any damage caused.
But while not all teams are in agreement that such a scenario is realistic, Binotto thinks there are justifiable grounds for at least teams and F1’s chiefs to get together and talk about it.
He says that an inspection of bills from the first half of 2021 shows Ferrari has faced paying out 2.5 million euros ($3 million) for damage – which shows the kind of leeway that has to be built into budgets nowadays for unexpected events.
“These are overall damages, and sometimes we can damage ourselves, so these are not [just] other teams that damage ourselves,” explained Binotto.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21 retires from the race
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“Now, obviously, there's been a lot of discussions that if there is a crash and there is a guilty driver, and you're not faulty, and if you have been damaged, then should that be exempt from the budget cap?
“I think it's certainly an important point because the reason why I mentioned 2.5m euros is to show that overall the damage can be significant. So should we consider a different type of regulation in those cases?
“I think certainly there is merit for it. I think that certainly there are no obvious solutions, but it is something that no doubt we will discuss with the FIA, F1 and teams in the coming weeks, possibly to address it, to see if there is any solution for the future.”
Beyond the damage cost, there is also a fresh debate about whether teams should face exemptions from grid penalties if they suffer engine damage as the result of another drivers’ actions and are forced to take a fresh power unit.
Leclerc lost his second power unit of the year after he was swiped by the out-of-control Stroll at the first corner of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Binotto thinks there are grounds to discuss a potential change here too, even though it would be very complicated to sort out.
“There is no obvious solution,” he said. “If we damage an engine, as in our case like in Hungary, it was an engine that still had its intended usage but was not new.
“By replacing it, you fit something new so you don’t do it with something of equal mileage and the same lifespan. So it’s complicated.
“There is talk of a further reduction in 2025, of moving from three engines to two [per season] so it is clear that the fewer engines there are, the more important the issue becomes.
“We will discuss with all the other teams, and with the FIA, because this is certainly a current issue, brought to light from several sources, and therefore it deserves to be explored. But I don't think there is an easy solution.”
Related video

Why Ricciardo has changed his mind on sim racing
Why F1’s latest battleground offers unlimited opportunities

Latest news
Las Vegas approves plan to shut Strip for F1 race until 2032
Officials in Las Vegas have approved a plan to shut the Strip for the Formula 1 grand prix for the next 10 years as they eye a “lifetime in partnership.”
Porsche boss “as surprised as anyone” over Gulf-Williams F1 social media frenzy
Porsche’s head of motorsport Thomas Laudenbach found it “funny” that streamlining its Instagram channels caused a Formula 1 social media speculation frenzy last month.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
Why Alfa Romeo has kept its blade roll hoop on 2023 F1 car
The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has retained its unique blade roll hoop for the C43 but designed it to withstand load tests that the FIA will introduce in 2024.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
How the last Sauber-built Alfa offers F1 2023 evolution clues
Alfa Romeo has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal a new car for 2023, in addition to a fresh livery. This offered a first look at some of the understated changes produced by the revised regulations, along with points of convergence in the second year of the ground effect rules
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.