Mike Krack on Aston Martin's budget for the remainder of 2022: "We are okay but not comfortable"

Monday 26 September 2022

F1 | Mike Krack on Aston Martin's budget for the remainder of 2022: "We are okay but not comfortable"

With budget caps being the hot topic in 2022, Team Principal Mike Krack explains more about Aston Martin’s position on the subject.

As well as the new generation of cars for 2022, the budget cap has been a big talking point. Teams at one point doubted they could complete the season because of inflation, until an agreement was eventually reached to increase the budget.

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack was asked about this very topic after the Italian Grand Prix in Monza if the team had a remaining spend buffer, or if they could go down to their last penny of their budget spend with unexpected expenses. Speaking to MotorLAT and selected media, Krack said:

“You cannot plan to the last penny because you always need to leave a little buffer for accidental damage.

Krack believes Singapore and Suzuka are ones to be wary of. While they're very difficult circuits, hefty impacts and sizeable cost repairs are possible. 

“I think so far we were very fortunate, we did not have much [damage], but we still have Singapore to come, and Suzuka to come, and we have all these races where it can be potentially expensive.”

The FIA governing body responsible for ensuring Formula One teams adhere to the rules are the Cost Cap Administration [CCA]. The list of possible sanctions and penalties are determined by the extent of the breach. 

An overspend below 5% is considered a ‘minor overspend’ and could incur a financial penalty or other minor sanctions. However, a breach above 5% is deemed a ‘material overspend’, and could potentially result in Constructors’ Championship points deductions; suspension from an entire race, or races; or, the most severe punishment could be exclusion from the entire championship campaign.

When asked how close Aston Martin are to the limit of their budget, Krack said: “We are okay but not comfortable.” 

When pushed further on if their overspend could go into the millions, Krack concluded: “I do not want to go into any details.”