Seven teams are likely to be missing from the final four races of the Formula 1 championship are the words of Red Bull boss Christian Horner who calls the situation a crisis. Horner makes these claims based on the lowering of the budget cap which this year has been set at 140 million euros, is totally unsustainable in the current global climate.
This budget would normally have been more than enough, but that’s without taking into account the inflation that has plagued the world economy for several months, coupled with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that has drastically increased the price of raw materials.
Added to this, the rise of more than 50% in the cost of air freight, which is essential for teams when they have to travel outside Europe. With this in mind, Horner believes that the championship is likely to undergo a major shake-up by the end of the year.
Despite this hope, experts in the paddock believe that the teams themselves will have to cut their cloth accordingly and lay off a ton of employees. READ MORE ON THIS STORY HERE
“Seven teams are likely to miss out on the last four races of the season to fit within the cost cap this year and it’s not just about the big teams, but also about the midfield teams who are suffering from inflationary problems,” says Horner,
“The FIA has a duty of care, and I know they take this very seriously. Energy bills and the cost of living are rising exponentially and F1 is not exempt,
“Freight has quadrupled and it’s not something we can control.”
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If teams have to stop car development sooner to avoid force majeure race withdrawals, so be that.