The arguments around budgets could extend beyond the end of the season, Christian Horner worries.
base is in Milton Keynes in the UK and Horner said that the predicted inflation for the country was at 11% and that unlike other parts of the sport, inflationary costs was not something teams could control.. “That is something that you, together with your group of designers, you create. You’re in control of your own destiny.
“What we’re seeing in the world at the moment, we’re not in control of the inflationary costs that are affecting households around the world. In the UK, we’re seeing predicted inflation at 11 per cent.“That’s a direct effect on staff, on raw materials, on electricity, on commodities, on supplied parts. I think it genuinely is a force majeure situation that the FIA need to deal with.”
If a team does breach the limit then they could be hit with a penalty but Horner has said he does not want to see the “Championship decided in law courts, or in Paris in front of the FIA.”“I think the top teams would have to get rid of circa two, three hundred people each, to get anywhere near addressing it. Is that right?“We need to find a solution to this issue. Nobody could have predicted this.
The FIA have yet to give any indication that they would be willing to raise the cap but it is an issue that is only likely to continue as the season goes on and teams get closer to the cap.