McLaren’s boss Andreas Seidl has warned that Formula 1’s top three teams will still hold an advantage during the early years of the next regulatory cycle.
Formula 1 chiefs are finalising an overhaul of the sporting and technical regulations, including the introduction of a phased-in budget cap, in a bid to create a fairer playing field.
Only Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have won races in Formula 1’s hybrid era while Toro Rosso’s podium in Germany is the sole top three finish by a midfield team in 2019.
A budget cap of $175m is set to be implemented from 2021, ahead of a gradual sliding scale, prompting suggestions that leading teams will be able to spend substantially prior to then.
“First of all these three teams are far ahead of everyone else, not just because of budget, but because also they do a better job and they will still do a better job in 2021,” said Seidl, whose McLaren team hold fourth in the standings.
“It’s down to us to simply work harder and better to get to where they are.
“But of course if we do the best possible job now with the conditions we are in now with the team size, budget, there’s a certain limitation then of what we can do.
“And of course they can, with the knowledge and the man power they have now, they can get a head start with the ‘21 regulations and it will take time to come together and wash out.
“For sure this will take… one, two or three years but this is the challenge we are in and this is a challenge we will take as in the end we just need to work harder and better.”
Leading Formula 1 figures are set to meet today (Thursday) to discuss the 2021 proposals for a penultimate time ahead of the October 31 sign-off deadline.
“The regulations as we have said already we fully support the direction FIA and F1 is going to,” said Seidl.
“For us, the most important thing is the financial regulations to come into place, especially the budget cap.
“We also like what we have seen on the technical side and the sporting side as I think it hits the objectives of what has been set one or two years ago, should improve closer racing and overtaking, which improves the show.
“And for us it’s just important now to have these two more meetings lined up now, we have the strategy meeting and hopefully we can do the last fine-tuning of what is in place in terms of proposal and then we’re waiting for the announcement at the end of October.”
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