Binotto: Budget cap and more races a problem

Mattia Binotto believes that teams may struggle to hire the required staff for an increased calendar under the proposed 2021 budget cap.

A 22-race calendar for next season is expected to be announced imminently, with Liberty stating they’d be interested in going as high as 25.

Binotto, theFerrariteam principal, understand the reasons for doing so but believes it will cost the teams far more money due to increased staff demands.

“I think we need first to make sure that from the financial [side] we are doing the right choices,” Binotto toldAutosport.com.

“There should be a benefit in terms of the overall financial balance.

“If the balance is positive, yes, we need to [re-]organise ourselves. We cannot afford an entire season of 24 races with the same single individuals.”

With an increased schedule coinciding with the proposed budget cap being introduced in 2021, Binotto,who insistshe is not focusing on the future yet, believes teams may struggle to afford the required staff.

“I think as a team we want to make sure you’re keeping your people in the future, [so] you need to really try to manage the effort throughout the season, so in the end, it will have a big impact,” Binotto added.

“It will have a big impact on the number of people, it will have a big impact logistically because you need to somehow manage the transport of all the parts.

“So it’s not easy, and there’s very little time to organise ourselves as well because increasing the number of people is not something you do easily, [and doing so] using the budget cap.

“So here is the risk, because you may not [be able to] afford the right number of people simply because you need to manage extra salaries [under the budget cap]. Not an easy one.”

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