Red Bull and Mercedes have reportedly emerged as two of the teams that would like to have the budget cap increased by $5 million in 2022.
Amid significant alterations to the technical regulations for 2022, the teams have had to adopt entirely new design philosophies ahead of the new season.
This also applies to the less powerful engine, upon which a development freeze has been imposed.
Further, three more sprint events have been added to the calendar this year, doubling the amount that we saw last season in Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos.
READ: McLaren CEO hits out at F1 teams for throwing 2022 sprint races into jeopardy
F1 technical director Ross Brawn has previously stated that “some teams” have come to him with concerns that the budget should be reverted back to $145 million as a result of what they perceive will be additional damage as a result of the sprints.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has already commented that he believes the sprint races caused “little damage” in 2021 and labelled attempts to raise the budget cap “ridiculous.”
Further, he said his McLaren team are “adamantly opposed” to any raise of the spending regulations.
The American has now accused the teams in question of attempting to manipulate the financial regulations in their favour.
“Some teams still look for excuses to raise the cost cap and win World Championships with chequebooks,” said Brown in a McLaren column ahead of the new season.
“The ongoing lobbying by certain teams to increase the cost cap for sprint race damage is a continuing example.
“The Saturday sprint race initiative by Formula 1 has added new viewers and raised the profile of the sport to expand its global fanbase.
“However, these teams continue to demand a raise to the cost cap by an inordinate amount of money, despite the clear evidence that little damage was incurred during these races last year, in a thinly veiled attempt to protect from their competitive advantage being eroded.”
It now appears that Red Bull and Mercedes are two of the aforementioned teams looking to the FIA to give them more scope to spend, according to a report by Corriere dello Sport.
The Milton Keynes-based team are also building their own powertrains this year following the departure of Honda at the end of 2021.
They have also been the subject of a rumoured powertrain supplier entry by a combination of Audi and Porsche, and Red Bull are reportedly set to receive power units from them in 2026.
READ: Brown admits McLaren could ditch Mercedes for VW power units
Meanwhile, Mercedes chief technical officer James Allison has recently gone on record to say that the new regulations “dwarf anything else I’ve ever seen,” as manufacturers attempt to nail their power units due to the freeze that will prevent any development.
The rival teams battled for supremacy in 2021, with Max Verstappen dramatically defeating Sir Lewis Hamilton for the Drivers’ Championship, while Mercedes held off their counterparts to seal their record eighth consecutive Constructors’ Championship.
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