"We know from other sports it’s possible" - F1 team principals feel driver salary caps could be introduced without much difficulty

F1 team bosses say a salary cap for drivers could be introduced without much difficulty in the near future, despite many current drivers being on long-term contracts.

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl felt that any discussion relating to the drivers' salary cap would be “complex” given the current situation and would need to be dealt with carefully. He, however, also expressed a desire to transition away from the current model into something that is more in line with other competitive sports. Seidl said:

“I think it’s not that difficult. I’m sure you will find ways of transition, dealing with that situation. As I said, again, before, it’s important to have these discussions now about the details behind closed doors because it is complex, obviously. But we know from other sports it’s possible and yeah, that’s how we deal with it.”

Currently, driver salaries, along with the salaries of the top three employees within teams, are excluded from the budget cap. Most top teams spend more money on their drivers and top employees than some smaller teams do while developing their cars.

For instance, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen – the highest-paid drivers on the grid – both take home $40 million each per year, while Mercedes and Red Bull are estimated to spend a further $20m-$30 million per year on remuneration for their top engineers and designers. In comparison, Williams and Haas each spend less than $100 million each year on their entire operation.

Meanwhile, Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer agreed with Seidl’s views on the issue but felt that teams should be given advance notice if such a measure were to be implemented. He added, saying:

“We have to have a forward look as to when you bring it in such that if everybody is aware, then we don’t enter into those long-term contracts just before a cap like that is introduced. So, I think that’s all part of the planning process.”

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Alfa Romeo boss doesn’t expect F1 to introduce salary cap until 2026

Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur doesn’t expect the drivers' salary cap to be introduced within the next few seasons, even if all F1 teams were in favor. He felt that the issue was a “long-term process” that could potentially come to fruition when the new regulations come into effect in 2026. The Frenchman said:

“In any case, it will be a long-term process that you can’t imagine that it will be in place for ’22 or ’23 that it has to be at least for ’26, perhaps a bit more. But again, I’m not sure that we will have the biggest issue on this.”

When the F1 cost cap was originally introduced in 2020, drivers’ salaries were one of the most hotly contested topics. While smaller teams were mostly in favor of a salary cap in some form or the other, most top teams were firmly against the idea.