Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says rampant inflation and higher energy costs have put a burden on Formula 1 teams that justify an urgent discussion on the sport's budget cap.
This year's cost cap threshold for teams sits at $140 million, a $5 million drop compared to last season, with next year's cap dropping to $135 million.
The cost savings measures introduced last season have forced Grand Prix racing's bigger teams to streamline or restructure part of their operations which has inevitably led to head count reduction and to painful redundancies.
But rising energy prices in the world coupled with global supply chain issues – not to mention the potential economic fall-outs from the conflict in Ukraine – are pushing inflation rates higher, which in turn is putting big pressure on some teams' ability to remain within F1's financial constraints.
"What you have to remember is when the budget cap was set back in the midst of the pandemic, in the middle of 2020, nobody could have foreseen the circumstances that we have in the world today," argued Horner, speaking in Bahrain.
"What we see going on in the world is only going to drive prices one way.
"Inflation looks like it could hit record amounts. We’re seeing that impact already on things like air freight just to this event.
"I think it’s a very serious problem that we have to look at and address because this has a one-to-one impact on people’s jobs and livelihoods."
Horner says the onus is on Formula 1 and the FIA to urgently address the issue and offer teams "relief" to help them cope with the current situation.
"It's the duty of the regulator to look at this with a degree of urgency to make sure that the relief is put in place to take into account what's going on in the world with the cost of living increases that we're all going to see?" he concluded.
McLaren F1 boss Andreas Seidl agreed with Horner's call for an urgent discussion on F1's budget cap.
"It's always important to apply common sense and with these additional challenges that came up in the last weeks and months in terms of inflation and so on ... I think it's important to simply have a discussion about it," said Seidl.
"We are absolutely up for that discussion ... open also to solutions or potential adjustments as long as everything is happening within reason."
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