Will there be a repeat of the 2005 scandal? The Red Bull boss believes it could happen. Most teams will miss the end of the season, he says!

Some teams won’t be able to finish the season, according to Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner. The big scare for F1 is the scandal of 2005, when only six cars started the US GP. But back then teams were worried about safety, and this season Horner says finances will play a major role…

Since the start of the season there have been discussions about adjusting the budget cap to reflect the level of inflation around the world and the rising cost of transport.

CEO Ross Brawn has previously indicated that the FIA and F1 are trying to resolve the situation and a scenario similar to that predicted by Horner should not happen. Nor must it.

Indeed, the Red Bull boss claims that with the current budget caps, some teams will not even be able to finish the season due to lack of money.

Horner fears that history could repeat itself. The 2005 U.S. Grand Prix was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and only six cars started the race. The reason was that Michelin failed to deliver tyres to the USA that could cope with the rigours of the race.

The tyre manufacturer even said at the time that the tyres were unfit for racing and feared for the safety of the drivers. Of course, this did not reflect well on F1, and even today it remains one of the biggest scandals not only in the history of Formula 1, but of motorsport.

So this year, according to Horner, it is the finances and the lack of them that will make it impossible for the teams to finish the season.

The current budget cap is $140 million per year plus $1.2 million for the 22nd race. According to the 48-year-old Red Bull boss, this is a figure that severely restricts teams, both in development and in on-track decision-making in an effort to avoid unexpected events, or collisions.

However, apart from Red Bull, several stables have already proposed budget increases in the past, to the tune of seven million dollars. Specifically, McLaren, Aston Martin and Mercedes, while Alpine, Haas and Alfa Romeo were to oppose the increase.

However, according to Otmar Szafnauer, Alpine F1 team boss, Horner is more likely to put pressure on the FIA to raise the cap and Red Bull would understandably have extra money for costs, energy, transport etc. But according to Szafnauer, there is no problem to reduce the development budget by, for example, 3 million.

“I think we need the FIA to address the problems of inflation. Because I think that basically about seven teams will have to miss the last four races to get to the limit this year,” said Horner to the FIA, quoted by Motorsport.

“It’s not just the big teams, it’s the teams in the middle of the field that are really struggling with inflation rates that could get worse in the second half of the year,” he added.

“I know the FIA has a duty to take care of potential problems like this. I know they are taking it seriously because, as I say, with the current cap, many teams would have to miss out on a number of major prizes to fit within the limit. I say this based on the figures that have been presented in Spain,” Horner assesses the potential financial problems.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) will be looking into this and it is possible that the budget cap will indeed be increased. But we will have to wait for some official confirmation.

Sources