Team budget restrictions

[RickD]

Just been reading Andrew Bensons blog on the BBC and thoguht this might be interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson ... -cutt.html

Most of the teams seem to think Red Bull cheated with regards to resource limits (I can certainly understand the other teams POV as it seemed Red Bull development was way out there all season). Do you think this is the case or is it more sour grapes?

 

[cider_and_toast]

It certainly sounds a bit like sour grapes to me. On the one hand these are the same teams that laughed Mosley out of the FIA when he proposed the budget cap system and yet on the other they cry unfair when they think someone else has got the better of the system. It seems like the usual F1 games where last weeks "moaner" is the weeks "all in favour".

As an interesting little addition to this, there was a small bit in the financial section of one of the sunday papers (can't remember if it was the Times or the Mail) that looked at a recent survey of how quickly every team on the grid paid their bills. The team that came out top in this was Red Bull who managed to settle every bill on the day it was due for payment or earlier. They apparently paid up on average, one day quicker per bill than they did last season.

Most of the other teams averaged a payment of 8 to 30 days late per bill however the world champions in the late payment stakes were 1Malaysia who settled their invoices on average, 180 days after they were due.

Even more interestingly the article goes on to claim that Renault F1 had to take out two loans this season in order to pay their bills. It seems no wonder that Renault Motorsport wants out and that Genii capital are desperate to off load the team.

 

[FB]

I read this on the BBC Gossip column. What this highlights, to me at least, is that it's almost impossible for the FIA to control the amount of money any of the teams spend on development and then there is a risk they might steal other peoples ideas; such as the problems between Force India and Lotus on wind tunnel data last year.

For example, what is to stop Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes (for example) using one of the other divisions within their vast businesses to carry out some fundamental design work, test new materials or generally cheat the rules (I'm not suggesting they did, by the way, just that it would be very easy to do). Testing bans can be enforced (apart from the odd publicity film) as, to an extent, can restrictions on wind tunnel time. But to try and stop big companies using other resource to develop their F1 cars is nigh on impossible.

Anyway, the main advantage Red Bull have is Adrian Newey.

 

[siffert_fan]

It sounds like pure sour grapes to me. Even if true, did their "cheating" budget even approach the "legal" budget of the Red Team. I doubt it. Frankly, the FIA (and why doesn't Max just disappear with something approaching grace?) has a different standard of conduct for each and every team, so their protestations on any subject lacks credibility (to me at least).