"You never stop developing"- Ferrari claims F1's budget cap hasn't put a halt to 'people bringing up great ideas’

Ferrari engineer Jock Clear believes teams have been creative enough to manage the development of their cars despite the budget cap. The British engineer feels the budget cap has not stopped any of the teams from developing their cars excessively in the 2022 season.

Speaking to the Motorsport Network, Clear said:

“The state of play of the championship obviously has an impact on whether you push through more developments here, and obviously towards the end of the year, you’re pretty much knowing where your ceiling is on what you can spend, because your year is capped. Inevitably, you’re going to have to make some decisions based on the state of play at the moment. And of course, you never stop developing. Whether you choose to spend it on packages that come to the circuit or not, the actual brain power doesn’t really cost a great deal. There’s very intelligent people at all of the teams coming up with ideas. So even if you’re not bringing them to the circuit, they are going to manifest probably beginning of next season. Again, you choose when you bring them. The cost cap certainly hasn’t put a cap on people bringing up great ideas. Back at the factory, that’s always happening and that’s quite exciting.”

While small teams have taken a more conservative approach by bringing in upgrades, the top four teams have not let the budget cap affect their car development.

According to the Ferrari engineer, teams have creative people with the ability to strategize their financial spending, despite the budget caps that have been imposed. McLaren’s Andreas Seidl, however, had a contrasting movement where he felt that there were still limitations and restrictions due to the budget cap, particularly on wind-tunnel time.

Commenting on the budget cap being restrictive to their car development, Seidl said:

“Hopefully it is not just us who had to pull the handbrake in terms of further developments, due to the restrictions we’re having mainly from the cost cap side. But there are also the restrictions you have nowadays with further limited wind tunnel time, so you really need to be very careful with how you use your wind tunnel time.”

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Ferrari explain their goal of winning titles before 2026

Ferrari team chief Mattia Binotto clarified chairman John Elkann’s comments to La Gazzetta dello Sport where the latter suggested their goal was to claim a title before 2026. The Italian team principal believes their ambition is to start winning and claiming titles as soon as possible, not just by 2026.

Speaking to Formula 1’s official website, the Ferrari team principal said:

“I think it’s more managing the expectations, but more than that I think what he said precisely is it’s before 2026 – from now until 2026 – and I think the ambition of the team is now to do it as soon as possible. If we look at the current season, we are fully aware that there are still steps that are required to be somehow in the position to win the championship.”

With a disappointing season filled with a mix of dismal performances and some dominant victories, Ferrari were scrutinized heavily in their home race in Monza by the Italian press. With their last drivers' title victory in 2007 followed by their last constructors' title a year later, the Maranello team is under pressure to deliver in the coming years.