F1 News
Magnussen happy with budget cap: "makes us more competitive"
- GPblog.com
The coronavirus has a major financial impact on Formula 1 and the teams. No races means no income, but at the same time a lot happens in the background that is good for the sport. Decisions are being made, including about the budget cap, and one learns something from this crisis.
Affordable
That helps Formula 1 and Kevin Magnussen sees that the pandemic also brings some useful developments in that respect. In conversation with the Danish newspaper BT the Haas driver says: "Gene (Haas) knows he has a very good, small team. And there are so many good things happening in Formula 1 at the moment, that it can be beneficial for us".
One of the things that Magnussen sees as advantageous for Haas is that the budget ceiling has been decided. A further reduction is even more beneficial for the team, which continues to encourage this. In that context, Magnussen expects to be able to come along better with the rest, something that didn't quite work out in 2019.
"This can make us much more competitive. We are talking about a ceiling that is close to our budget. This means we can keep going and nothing will change, while many of our competitors will have to make cuts in all sorts of areas. That's where it gets interesting for Gene."
After all, Haas doesn't have to invest more in the team than they already do and if the development goes smoothly, it will look a lot better. Magnussen describes 2019 as a bump in the road. "I understand that Gene is frustrated about what happened last year, but I think it was just a stumbling block."
The budget cap, as agreed by the teams, will take effect from 2021.