‘They are asking more and more from us and they benefit’ Alonso not happy with driver salary cap

At the start of the 2021 season, F1 imposed a budget limitation, restricting teams’ expenditure to $145 million each year. This projection has reduced to $140 million for 2022, and will drop by $5 million next year, despite continuous discussions about the impact of inflation and rising freight costs. There are a few things that aren’t included in this basic amount, such as driver compensation, although there is a revived push for a driver pay ceiling in the future years.

‘Drivers are outside the topic’

Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, remarked in Monaco at the end of last month that he did not believe F1 needed to implement a pay ceiling because of the amount of effort the drivers put in to promote the sport. “Drivers have always been outside this topic, and I think the drivers, they are us using more and more to promote Formula 1. We do more and more events and we are more in contact with the fans. They are asking more and more from us and they are benefiting from that. So we should be outside from that cap. It’s very complicated.”

Salary cap

Over the last few years, the projected pay limit plan has established a number of $30 million to cover both drivers in the team. If this sum is surpassed, any additional money spent on driver pay may be deducted from the team budget ceiling. The cost ceiling is presently in the limelight again as a number of clubs advocate for a hike in the $140 million limit for this season owing to financial challenges created by inflation from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Others on this issue

Many people and drivers have questioned the sustainability of a pay ceiling, notably Lewis Hamilton, who has stated that he believed it would inhibit younger stars due to image rights constraints. As the series strives for better financial sustainability, Alfa Romeo F1 head Frederic Vasseur stated in Monaco that a wage ceiling for drivers and key employees will be “the next subject on the table.”

Ferrari stated in Monaco that it had no possibility of keeping under the $140 million limit for the season at the moment, therefore justifying its request for an increase. However, other teams are skeptical of the situation, claiming that the larger teams just develop their vehicles less in order to keep within the quota.