Red Bull team principal Christina Horner has warned of the severe consequences the budget cap may have on some teams due to inflation.
The budget cap for the 2022 season sits at circa $140 million, and this has to be spread between development, damage repair and transport of freight, among other aspects.
Horner has spoken previously about the cost of living going up in many countries around the world, and getting freight to and from countries – particularly with the amount of fly-away races Formula 1 undertakes now – is becoming more and more expensive.
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The result of that is that freight may be delayed in getting to the racetrack but, even more concerning than that, the money needed to set up shop for every grand prix means that some teams may be in danger of exceeding the cost cap.
Horner indicates that an additional subsidy should be provided for transport, and urges the FIA to take the matter seriously.
“I think we need to raise this inflation problem with the FIA, because the bottom line is that about seven out of ten teams will have to miss the last four races of the season to stay under the budget cap,” he said, quoted by the Dutch edition of RacingNews365.com.
“This isn’t just about the bigger teams. The teams in the midfield are also suffering from inflation. We notice that it will get even worse during the second half of the year.
“They have a job to do. This situation has to be taken very seriously.
“You don’t want to get to a point where I think, looking at the figures presented, certain teams have to miss some Grand Prix to get those numbers.
“No one wants to find themselves in that position. That’s why this issue has to be raised with the FIA during the second half of the year. The energy bills, the cost of living… we see it in all countries, the costs are growing exponentially.”
“One is no exception. Transport costs have quadrupled. This is something beyond our control.”
Haas have already suffered freight issues this season, although this was due to a plane breaking down in Istanbul, delaying their arrival in Bahrain for the second pre-season test.