The F1 cost cap could be removed following comments from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem that it was “a headache” and he did not “see the point” in having it.

The cost cap was introduced in 2021 in order to make competition fairer but four years later and the incumbent president has hinted it could be scrapped.

F1 cost cap could be scrapped, suggests FIA president

Before the cost cap era began, teams were free to spend as much as they could afford, which led to a split in the grid of the haves and have-nots.

But in 2021, an effort to increase competition was made with the introduction of a $145m-cost cap, limiting teams in how much they could spend on all aspects of their business, not just on developing the cars.

Red Bull were a famous example of a team to fall foul of this, overspending by $2.2 million in 2021 and being given a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time for a year.

Since then and after a few other procedural breaches, teams have conformed to the cost cap, which for 2025 is set at $140.4 million, but Ben Sulayem has hinted at a return to the old ways, suggesting it was a “headache” for the organisation.

“I’m looking at the cost cap and it’s just giving the FIA a headache,” he told AP. “So what’s the point of it?

“I don’t see the point. I really don’t.”

Despite Ben Sulayem’s claims, the results of the cost cap are evident. In the opening race of the 2019 season, the quickest driver in qualifying was 5.581 seconds faster than the slowest. That gap was down to 2.051s in this year’s event.

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The FIA has previously shown flexibility when it comes to the cost cap. Last year, they granted the incoming Audi a cost cap offset due to higher costs at the team’s home of Switzerland.

Ben Sulayem’s suggestion is likely to concern both the top and smaller teams in F1, given how much the sport has changed.

For the top teams, they risk an arms race at a time when they are just now becoming profitable while the smaller teams will once again risk being the distant backmakers come race day.

The cost cap covers pretty much every outgoing for an F1 team bar some exceptions.

Driver salaries are not included nor are the wages of the three highest-paid staff members. Travel costs and marketing spend are also exempt, as are things like property costs, entry fees and parental and sick leave payments.

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