Haas on budget cap: 'Top teams have to work hard to keep their advantage'

The budget cap was introduced in 2021 with the aim of bringing F1 teams closer together and containing costs. Teams like Mercedes and Ferrari had to lay off staff to comply with the new rules.

Haas has noticed the positive effects of the budget cap over the past two seasons. Many Ferrari staff switched to the smaller team so they could increase spending to get closer to the limit. For the 2022 season, the cost cap was set at $140 million. Haas crept from last place in 2021 to eighth last season.

Gap towards the top will only narrow

"I think it’s very important for Formula 1 that we keep this budget cap somehow managed in a way like it is now, because if you look at the championship this year, all the teams scored points, I think by the fifth race, everybody had scored points", Steiner explains to Speedcafe.

Red Bull Racing, Mercedes and Ferrari were still overwhelmingly the top three teams, but Steiner thinks the gap towards the top will only narrow in the future. "The gap between the first and the last is relatively small. You know, it shows that it works and going forward the gap will go down in my opinion, because you cannot outspend anybody anymore. Going forward, the top teams need to work hard to keep that advantage."