How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule

By:

Jonathan Noble

Mar 30, 2023, 2:06 PM

OPINION: From the outside looking in, the cost cap implemented by Formula 1 has been seen as a good thing by many which will bring the grid closer together. But it would be wrong to think that it has made the championship a utopia

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Forget Netflix, embracing social media or the switch to ground-effect cars. When it comes to singling out the most important step change that Formula 1 has made in recent years, it is the introduction of the cost cap.

The new spending limits that came in as part of an emergency package introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic have played their part in helping secure the long-term survival of a grid that should be more compact. As Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer put it: "The smart teams now have a better chance of doing well. We are also saved from ourselves in not spending every bit of money we have, and money we don’t have, in trying to go faster.

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Jonathan Noble

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Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.