Seidl denounces the “incredible salaries” offered by certain teams despite the cap budget

There has been no formalization yet, with the FIA ​​planning to speak sometime next week. But in Milton Keynes as much as at Silverstone, there are ringing ears. Red Bull and Aston Martin are in fact suspected of having violated the 2021 Financial Regulations by having spent more than the 145 million euros planned in the 2021 budget ceiling. At a press conference, Christian Horner denied any excess on the part of Red Bull Racing and displayed cold anger against Mercedes and Ferrari, whom he accuses of trying to exploit the upcoming title of Max Verstappen. 

 Sitting right next to Horner in front of the press on Saturday morning, without ever naming any team, Andreas Seidl, usually so controlled in his public interventions, in turn complained about the financial actions of certain competitors. “Now it's just important that there is full transparency about what's actually going on, because it's clear that if someone spends more money than the cap allows, that's an advantage in performance terms” confirmed the German. 

“We have an obligation to our staff, from the FIA ​​side and from our side, because even for a team like ours, the introduction of the budget cap meant that we had to put in place some really serious measures that affected our staff. We also had to lay off people, we had to ask our employees to accept salary reductions or salary freezes, which is something very serious.

Seidl does not understand the expenses of certain teams

At McLaren, the internal efforts which accompanied the arrival of the budgetary cap make all the more incomprehensible the lifestyle that others would maintain despite everything. “At the same time, there was, particularly from two teams, an incredibly aggressive hiring spree, which is still ongoing, with sky-high salaries on the table and incredible benefits for the company. We all wonder how this is possible in this new world of Formula 1 and inevitably our employees challenge us to make sure we do everything right on our end.”

At McLaren, we are not happy. © Antonin Vincent / DPPI

“That is why we will welcome clarity on this, because in the end we want to find out if we missed something on our end or if there were actually violations taking place with a clear explanation of the reason for which certain teams can do certain things that we simply weren't able to offer to our employees. (...) It is very important that, on the FIA ​​side, they ensure that they control costs correctly, that they enforce the regulations and put in place appropriate sanctions in the event of an infringement, even if it affects the results of the championship of the past.” 

One thing is certain, the FIA ​​and F1 are playing big. The budget cap is probably the “best decision taken in twenty years of Formula 1”, as Fred Vasseur estimated on Saturday, and on the management of this first shock will depend the future of this budget cap, and the entire credibility of F1 in the future. If the budget overruns are serious and proven, and the sanctions are not exemplary, this could set a precedent and the message sent to the teams would be catastrophic, with big teams which could continue to exceed the ceiling as they wish. The FIA ​​should communicate on the file next week, and the matter will be resolved… 
 
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