Ferrari F1 reports €2.5m damage bill for 2021 season so far; brings up F1 budget cap issue

F1's new budget cap rule has resulted in a new headache for top teams as they are required to reduce their spending to get below the $145 million cost cap limit. Both Mercedes and Red Bull Racing have discussed the issue over the winter as they had to lay off staff to reduce their expenses. However, as the season has progressed, further unexpected issues have emerged that has made it difficult for teams to stay within the limits of the cost cap. For example, Ferrari F1 reported that they are unhappy about the €2.5m damage bill that has been generated since the beginning of the 2021 season.

Ferrari have a €2.5m damage bill since the beginning of 2021 season

Ferrari F1 team principal Mattia Binotto suggested after the Hungarian GP that rivals whose drivers are guilty of causing collisions should pay for any damage caused to another team. Aston Martin F1's Lance Stroll took out Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the first corner at the Hungaroring, thereby ending the Monegasque's race. While not all teams are in consensus that such a scenario is plausible, Binotto insists that he has justifiable reasons for suggesting so. Ferrari says that they are required to pay €2.5m in damages after an inspection of bills from the first half of the 2021 season. As per Autosport, Binotto said,

"These are overall damages, and sometimes we can damage ourselves, so these are not [just] other teams that damage ourselves. 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."