“Is that to help Red Bull?”: Fans react as FIA reportedly considering increasing cost cap

Formula 1’s cost cap is set for a significant rise in 2026 as per the FIA, and the news has sparked a wave of fan debate with fingers pointing towards Red Bull and the frontrunners. The governing body is reportedly set to lift the spending limit from $135 million to $215 million, due to inflation and the introduction of new technical regulations.

The cost cap, introduced in 2021, was designed to level the playing field. It forced high-spending outfits like Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull to operate under the same financial restrictions as smaller teams. Between 2023 and 2025, the cap was set at $135 million, with minor inflation adjustments. Now, with sweeping regulation changes on the horizon in 2026, the FIA plans to raise the limit by $80 million.

RBR Daily brought the news to fans on X, posting:

"The FIA is set to raise the 2026 budget cap from $135 million to $215 million to reflect the global inflation and other associated costs."

Almost instantly, the replies turned heated. One fan fired the opening shot:

"Or is that to help Red Bull?"

Others piled on, echoing the same suspicion.

Bazerk_Asmodeus

@AsmodeusBa78587

What will be Redbull's excuse for breaking the new budget cap??

rocketotk

@rockeotko

People that want the cap removed don't like competition. Ferrari, Mercedes, Redbull and now Aston have x10 the amount of money than any small team. They can easily spend x4 times what the others can, it' just unfair and bad for the sport

António de Noronha

@Avcn41Noronha

So basically the FIA announces the cost cap was a massive failure but still won't revert it, so it just nudges teams towards it anyways

However, not everyone opposed the move. A section of the fanbase saw logic in raising the number, pointing to inflation and rising costs across the globe.

Meadow¹⁵

@BrettexeF1

Inflation should be about 160-170 million. 215 is a pretty decent boost

Wessel van Keulen

@wesselvk

That’s good. More funds for cutting-edge innovation.

But skeptics pushed back hard against that reasoning.

GusBus

@gusthesportsfan

“Inflation,” sorry, but that’s more than inflation. Bottom teams were showing promise, and the top teams needed that to be killed off

Eugene (🦋: eugene--eugene)

@Eugene__Eugene

If that is just inflation, I'm afraid to look up next year's ticket prices

The responses underlined a split. Some see the change as a necessary adjustment, others as another step toward favoring the richest outfits. For now, the opinion remains divided.

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FIA explains its reasoning behind 2026 cost cap changes

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem at the Jeddah Corniche. Source: Getty

The cost cap has been one of F1’s biggest experiments in recent years. Introduced in 2021 at $145 million and reduced to $135 million in 2023, the system was built to limit runaway spending and bring closer racing. Driver salaries and the pay for a team’s top three earners remain exempt, but the cap has still reshaped how teams budget their seasons.

In 2026, however, the ceiling will rise to $215 million. FIA’s single-seater financial regulations director Federico Lodi explained why in an interview with RacingNews365. He noted that the new figure reflects two things: accumulated inflation since 2021 and additional costs that previously fell outside the cap.

"The level of $215 million USD (£159.6 million GBP) that was set for the team from 2026 is basically the result of two things," Lodi said. "The starting level is the cost cap of today, there is the effect of the accumulated inflation, plus there is the effect of the costs which are currently outside of the perimeter that we have brought in. So all in all, there is not really an increase of capital."

He also admitted the process of drafting these financial rules was far from simple.

"We need to make concessions, and that is why we've ended up with having 20–25 exclusions rather than just five or six, which would be our preference," Lodi added.

The FIA insists the rise does not mean teams can suddenly spend more, only that the accounting now captures expenses already being made. Still, many fear the spirit of the cap could be eroded, especially if wealthier outfits use the extra room to widen the gap again.

As 2026 approaches, the debate shows the tension at the heart of Formula 1’s financial model. The FIA believes the system is self-policing and flexible enough to balance itself. Fans, however, remain wary that another shift in the numbers could tilt the balance of power back toward the very teams the cost cap was meant to rein in.