Horner's idea rejected: 'Why does that have to change?'
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- GPblog.com
Since the beginning of this season there is a budget cap in Formula 1 of $145 million a year. From this budget the damage that is caused during Grand Prix weekends has to be paid for as well. Red Bull Racing and Ferrari believe it's not fair that they have to deal with the financial consequences when it is clearly the fault of another party.
It has been suggested by Christian Horner that damage from crashes shouldn't be included in the budget cap. Ferrari have agreed with this but McLaren have already said that they don't see any point in this plan. Kees van de Grint also stated in RTLGP Slipstream that he doesn't agree with Horner.
Little support for Red Bull plan
"Then you become like the Dutch government. If we make it a law, we will make an exception again," says Van de Grint, who believes that crashes are part of the sport. "It has always been like that. Why does that have to change? It is a good thing that we have a budget cap, but as team manager you have to take into account that you have some material damage.
Because Valtteri Bottas braked in the first corner during the Hungarian GP, there was a chain reaction which caused damage to many cars. Van de Grint is not keen on leaving the damage outside the budget cap. "They would bestraying so far from the essence of racing. In the past you also had insurances. Of course they were quite expensive, but they can do that too, can't they?", the former tyre specialist suggested.