McLaren is calling for an overhaul of the limit rules for sustainability reasons

McLaren has called for changes in the rules surrounding the cost limit. The team has found that technological innovation is currently being held back by financial regulations.

The cost limit was put in place to ensure more balance within Formula 1. This budget level is intended to prevent rich teams (such as Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari) from spending tons of money to be the best, while the poorer teams fall far behind. and they have no chance to overtake the top teams. The hope was that this would allow all teams to connect more with each other. That the rules apply to more than just car parts became clear when Red Bull were penalized for their violations. With Max Verstappen’s team, sick leave and the catering budget brought the total bill over the allowance.

Law limits sustainability at McLaren

McLaren has now found friction from these rules in a completely different area: sustainability. “Although the company has made great progress every year, we encountered a problem,” the team explained in an email press release. “Within the current financial regulations, sustainability programs are within the cost limit, unless they are directly linked to a clear exception. This means that teams have to make a choice between performance on the track and sustainability. McLaren has been very supportive recent negotiations between the teams, F1 and the FIA ​​​​to exclude sustainability plans from the cost limit.

Although McLaren is satisfied with the talks so far, according to the team it is not going fast enough. The British racing team is therefore advocating for a more comprehensive approach to this problem. Among other things, the team wants sustainability requirements for various race organizers, regulations on how car equipment is manufactured and supplied, and that sustainability targets for the entire sport be included in a second concorde agreement. In addition, the team wants more exceptions to the cost limit, for example in-house training with the team and practice sessions for various team members.

Williams in the same boat

McLaren is not the only team starting to experience cost constraints. Williams also feels smaller rather than helped by the scale. “The cost limit is a barrier in general,” said Williams team principal James Vowles last month formula1.com. “It puts us in a situation where we have a small amount of money to spend. That is not enough to guarantee a path to success. As a result, the process of getting everything in order within financial limits takes years and not six or twelve months.