FIA president considers scrapping F1 cost cap

The FIA president is considering scrapping the cost cap, which governs F1, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Introduced in 2021 to limit the amount of money each team can spend to a flat rate to try and close the grid up, the cost cap has been viewed as a key pillar behind F1 teams starting to become profitable businesses.

However, AP has reported that during the Miami GP weekend, Mohammed Ben Sulayem wondered whether the cap - currently set at about $140 million - should be scrapped as it is causing too many "headaches."

"I’m looking at the cost cap and it’s just giving the FIA a headache," he is quoted as saying by the AP. 

"So what’s the point of it? I don’t see the point. I really don’t."

Ben Sulayem was speaking against the backdrop of a spat between McLaren and Red Bull over allegations of McLaren using water to cool its tyres, a trick Red Bull has long suspected.

However, no evidence has been found to support the claims, with McLaren effectively telling Red Bull to 'put up or shut up' and lodge a protest instead of making accusations about the MCL39's legality.

Tyre supplier Pirelli has indicated that forcing water through the tyre valve without being detected would be next to impossible, with such an action a flagrant breach of the technical regulations. 

Ben Sulayem supported McLaren CEO Zak Brown's idea that if a team lodged a protest, the sum would be deducted from the cost cap pot, with it being returned only if the claims made were found to be true.