F1 set to introduce $145m budget cap

Ross Brawn

Formula One has agreed a $145 million budget cap for teams next year and will continue to try and tighten that for future seasons, managing director Ross Brawn said on Monday.

Brawn also said after a teleconference with teams and the governing FIA that a much fairer prize fund would feature in a new commercial agreement due by the end of this year.

"The budget cap initial objectives were a more competitive field and I think with the situation we have now the sustainability, the economic sustainability, of Formula One is a priority," Brawn told Sky Sports. "That counts as much for the big teams as it does for the small teams."

"The message is clear we've got to cut costs," Brawn added. "We started at $175m, that was a long battle to get it there, and with the current crisis we are now going to start at $145m and the discussion really is how much further down we can drive the next few years."

"Initiatives we are bringing with these new regulations are to make the sport more economically viable in terms of the complexity," he added. "The cars we have now are so complex that the more you spend, the quicker you will go. We need to level off that slope and create a situation where money is not the only criteria for how competitive you'll be."