Sergio Perez brands major F1 rule 'unfair' ahead of crucial vote

Sergio Perez has called the F1 cost cap "unfair for smaller teams" as Williams boss James Vowles tries to make changes to the spending restrictions. 

At a meeting of the F1 Commission next month, a vote is scheduled to be held on Vowles' idea to introduce a sliding scale for the cost cap as opposed to the flat-rate imposed on all teams at the moment, with those finishing lower down the constructors' standings receiving more spending power than those at the top. 

A similar scale was introduced for the Aerodynamic Testing Regulations (ATR), where wind-tunnel and CFD time was gradually reduced the higher a team finished up the standings for the next season - with a mid-season update.

Cadillac is one of the teams believed to be in favour of Vowles' idea, with the Williams chief requiring six votes, including his own, for the change to be made for 2027 - with this date being in mind so the changes could fully bed in for the expected 2030 return to V8 engines.

Perez, who has experience of both ends of the cost cap having driven for Red Bull between 2021 and 2024, feels it is "unfair" on those teams at the bottom of the standings.

"No," Perez's reply began when asked by media, including RacingNews365 if the team had more upgrades planned.

"We are obviously a new team and a small team. I think the cost cap these days is a lot more unfair for smaller teams because when I was at Red Bull, for example, we used to bring upgrades pretty much every weekend. 

"You never heard anything about the cost cap. It was all about performance, bringing, and throwing everything you could. 

"But when you are in smaller teams, because they're not as efficient and they don't have their methods as clear, you end up overspending so much more money. 

"So actually, the cost cap, instead of making it closer between teams, creates these massive gaps that we currently have on the grid."

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Is Vowles likely to get his change through?

The F1 Commission is a body containing all 11 teams, the FIA, F1, and other voters.

Vowles requires the consent of six teams to change the rules for 2027, including his own, but looks set to fail. 

Alpine, Aston Martin, Audi, and Cadillac all look set to vote with Williams, but this only brings Vowles to five, with Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull all understood to be against.

This leaves Haas and Racing Bulls. 

However, both are understood to be against the idea, with Racing Bulls chief Alan Permane recently stating his opposition, therefore rendering Vowles' plans as struggling to pass.

He could try again in 2027 for a 2028 introduction, when he would only require four votes.