“It’s the beginning of the adventure”- Ferrari’s racing director on how budget cap is ‘constraining’ top F1 teams
Ferrari’s sporting director Laurent Mekies has said the budget cap is a whole new challenge to be addressed by the team.
Mekies spoke about how the budget cap is a huge constraint, especially for a team like Ferrari, which is known for having one of the biggest spends in the history of the sport.
In an interview with Racingnews365, Ferrari’s sporting director said:
“Yes, the level of confinement is enormous. It’s not done yet because, as you know, there are different steps in the budget cap, and then you also have the new cars that came into the equation.
He also added:
“I think it’s the beginning of the adventure because the real discussion isn’t about the cost cap numbers or how much (it) goes up or if it goes up with inflation or plan cuts.
A key question mark that admittedly still worries Ferrari is how the budget gap will be monitored. At the beginning of the season, team boss Mattia Binotto raised questions about this. Mekies also expressed concern about the new regulations, saying:
“There is one key factor: policing. For us as a sport it has taken years and years and years and decades for the regulations to mature and you have something that puts massive restrictions on the top teams. So the level of police work you have to do is extremely high.”
Mekies used to be part of the technical unit before moving into his current role. He considers the transition to be a “natural” transition and gives some examples from the current grid. He said:
“Although you may see that there aren’t that many examples, it’s a very natural change because today’s sport is all one; They’re used to dealing with regulations on the technical side, so it’s a pretty natural switch. There was Sam Michael (ex-Williams and McLaren), there was Alan Permane at Alpine.
Laurent Mekies is now Ferrari race director
Laurent Mekies added that his role has evolved into a role as race director and Inaki Rueda (head of race strategy) will take over the sporting advisory board. Mekies spoke about how even Rueda has a technical background just like him, saying:
“I’m a race director and (head of race strategy). Inaki Rueda now participates in the sports advisory board. He’s the guy who represents us there and runs sporting events and he also has a technical background.”
He added:
“It’s about being involved, trying, learning, trying to contribute to the sport we love and being able to do that on different parts of the wall is fantastic.”
Ferrari are currently 97 points behind Red Bull in the championship and will be hoping to make a strong statement after the summer break.
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