05 August 2023 , 21:45
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Sky Sports duo Karun Chandhok and David Croft have clashed over Formula 1's cost cap - which the latter believes will see the sport lose its brain power.
Every team on the grid is governed by the cost cap, which was designed to try and level out the grid with several major manufacturers enjoying a huge advantage due to the resources at their disposal. Red Bull were previously found guilty of a "minor overspend" in 2021.
Teams continue to try and stay within the $135m (£105m) cap - which is a reduction on last season. Croft is concerned that the new figures mean employees will pursue other lines of work as they can earn more doing the same role away from F1 - Chandhok though wasn't in agreement.
Croft said as they discussed the topic : "The cost cap is ruining a lot of things in F1. Staff recruitment is being affected because teams cant pay the money that business outside of the sport can. Inflation is going up and the cost cap isn't. There's a brain drain with people leaving to work elsewhere. CFO are scratching their heads wondering if they've got everything right.
"It is a hugely complex piece of mechanism that, does anyone actually understand. I also think it is managed badly - why are we waiting a whole year to have auditors bring out the results, do it quarterly so teams know what's going on and can make changes."
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Chandhok responded: "On the whole I think cost cap is a positive. I get the reasons why we have it, i get the challenges of policing it. Crofty where i'd disagree with you is on pay - if you contrast what someone in F1 is paid, compare that with any other form of motorsport like Indy Car or Formula E and F1 is paid a premium. Also compare with Jaguar Land Rover or Nissan or anyone in road car industry, F1 is paid a premium."
Red Bull were punished for their 2021 cost cap breach (Getty Images)Lewis Hamilton is "concerned" that several major teams have chosen to breach the cost cap for 2022 after seeing the the lack of "big punishment" handed to Red Bull, who claimed the championship that year. Croft though maintains that F1 will miss out on the elite personnel it has landed previously.
He said: "Cost cap will stop the sport attracting the people it has in the past. Be it the space programme, aerospace, there's a huge amount of synergies out there."
The commentator also claimed: "I think we should get rid of cost cap as it stands currently. We should say let's be honest, the intentions were pure and to stop people spending huge money, lots has gone on to hide things that are outside the cost cap. What we should do is say realistically your cost cap is set at £140m without your top three earners and without the drivers. So you've got £250m-a-year full stop."