F1 Commission raises cost cap 3.1% at Austria meeting

The Formula 1 Commission has met in Spielberg ahead of first practice for the Austrian Grand Prix and delivered some outcomes that includes tweaks to the Financial Regulations to take into account increased costs incurred in 2022 due to high inflation.

F1 boss Stefano Domenicali, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, F1 Motorsports boss Ross Brawn and all 10 Team Principals gathered on Friday morning to discuss a series of topics.

Rising inflation rates since the end of last year have affected Formula 1 teams to the extent the FIA and F1 felt “creates a risk of noncompliance with the Financial Regulations if actions are not taken”.

The FIA say they brought a proposal to the Commission, which permits “indexation at a limited rate of 3.1% (which takes into account the original 3% inflation threshold already set out in the regulations) and permitted compounding of this rate as from 2023”.

There has also been a development regarding the draft Technical Directive which was issued ahead of the British Grand Prix and addresses safety concerns relating to the vertical oscillation of the cars (in other words porpoising).

The FIA says that following discussion with the teams, and to allow teams enough time to make necessary updates to the plank and skid assemblies which will allow “a fair application of the metric used to measure this oscillation across all cars”, it will come into effect from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards.

They added “enhanced controls” by the FIA introduced in Canada will continue, while several proposed actions to address this issue in the 2023 Technical Regulations were also discussed and are set to be taken in time for the next meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee.

A majority also agreed to update the regulations to allow pre-season testing to take place outside of Europe, four days prior to the first Grand Prix of the season.

Meanwhile, the 2026 Power Unit regulations were also on the agenda, with the FIA saying the package of regulations “is close to finalization”.

A statement from F1 and the FIA said the high inflation rates since the end of last year caused “a risk of noncompliance with the financial regulations if actions are not taken”, warranting intervention.

“Following consultation with the Financial Advisory Committee over recent weeks, the FIA brought proposals to the Commission that was approved by the required majority with support from the FIA, Formula 1 and nine of the teams,” the statement reads.

“The proposal recognizes the unexpected increase in costs incurred by teams in 2022 thereby permitting indexation at a limited rate of 3.1% (which takes into account the original 3% inflation threshold already set out in the regulations) and permitting compounding of this rate as from 2023.

“This will preserve the long-term integrity of the financial regulations.”

The F1 Commission also discussed the tighter limits for curfews on personnel working in the paddock that were introduced this year as part of the revised race weekend format.

“To a large extent this has been a success, and after the first half of the season a number of areas for improvement have been identified, specially in relation to the parc ferme timings after qualifying,” the statement reads.

This will see the current 90-minute window for parc ferme after qualifying on a Saturday be reduced to 30 minutes from next year, easing post-session pressures on teams and the FIA officials conducting technical checks.

Source: Formula1.com