2021 Race 11 - Hungary

**airshifter** · 4th August 2021, 18:09

Originally Posted by The Black Knight

From my point of view this is a non runner from the start. Crashes have always been part of F1 from the outset- if a team like RBR hasn't budgeted enough for the damages they have sustained then their accountants need to do a better job next year. The same with every other team up and down the grid. Budget caps have been in the making for 15 years. If in that time they haven't thought to budget for crashes then really that's on them. Crashes are part of F1 making other teams pay for your repairs, no matter what the reasoning, is opening Pandora's box and, regardless of the solution, I can imagine litigation and court cases following.

If you compete in F1 and can't handle some damage to your car every now and then, you're in the wrong sport.

I didn't state anything about having the team causing the damage to pay for it, simply provisions within the budget to allow repairs not allowed by current rules. FWIW, the only time I could even think of placing the burden on the car causing the damage would be if it was intentional and deliberate beyond any doubt.... then maybe.

With the restrictions on the power plants, I don't see why a team would be forced to run older units or face penalties if the damage is not caused by them. Depending on luck, someone could have major components taken out of service early in the life cycle, and with only three of many of these major engine components to be used through the season, they get double or triple shafted. I think at a bare minimum they should be allowed to replace that component without penalty. It's just rubbing salt in the wound for an incident that they didn't create.

I'm fine with budget caps and it making the teams closer in terms of performance. But with the noose tightening more over the next few years, it would suck to see a team lose out in the WCC for reasons beyond their control. This would once again hurt the small teams more than the big teams, as the small teams really need every point in the WCC to get through the coming years.