The one thing that can't be sacrificed amid Red Bull’s F1 overspend controversy

At the 2019 United States Grand Prix, F1’s owner Liberty Media and the FIA held a grand reveal for the new era rules that was originally going to be unleashed for 2021. While the centrepiece of the media event that day was the showing off of a windtunnel model of a new ground effect car, the press conference made clear there would be a more holistic approach to grand prix racing that would bring together a host of aspects to make the racing better.

Part of that came from delivering a car that could help drivers follow their rivals more closely, but of equal importance was the move towards the cost cap era that would level up the playing field between the front and the back of the grid. No longer would grand prix racing be about the big spenders simply writing cheques to buy their way to the top. Now, the smartest brains who could use the same resources better would have their own chance of success.