New Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur is hopeful that the current regulations and the budget cap will result in a “tighter championship fight”, with the Frenchman believing that Formula 1 is “going in the right direction” as it stands.
The budget cap was introduced in 2021 to stop the likes of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari from having the power to spend as much as they please, given that this caused a clear rift between the frontrunners and the rest of the field.
By introducing the cap, the likes of Ferrari can only spend as much as the midfield and the backmarker teams, resulting in a closer field.
Whilst some of the teams weren’t able to spend the full legal amount in either 2021 or 2022, the difference between what the likes of Haas and Ferrari spent was considerably less than before.
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Of course, the new aerodynamic regulations were introduced at the start of last season, with the emphasis of the regulation change being on closer racing.
2022 did see more overtaking than in previous years, with the cars having been visibly capable of running closer together.
A gap between the front and the midfield did remain last season, though, with Lando Norris having been the only midfield driver to finish on the podium.
Given that it was the first year of the new regs, it was somewhat predicted that the frontrunners could be dominant; however, with a year of data gathering having now been completed, the field should be closer in 2023.
Vasseur believes that with cost cap and the new regs are “working” in making the field “tighter”, something that will be “fantastic” for Formula 1.
“The regulations are good if teams are in front!” Vasseur told Racecar Engineering.
“Jokes aside, they have changed dramatically over recent years with the cost cap regulations, technical regulations, sporting regulations for using wind tunnels, etcetera.
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“All of these are going in the direction of the convergence of performance. Even the fact the engines are frozen means F1 is going toward a tighter championship fight, and it is working.
“Teams were spread out about five percent in qualifying performance in 2017 and 2018, and now most teams are within two percent.
“In 2022, five teams were within a one percent performance margin between them. It will be a fantastic sport if F1 maintains these regulations for a while.”