'Teams stop development earlier due to war in Ukraine'

The war in Ukraine is having a huge impact on the global economy. Inflation is rising all over the world and it is possible that Formula 1 will also feel the negative effects of this in the short term. Pierre Gasly is worried.

Ceiling reached

The Frenchman from AlphaTauri has also noticed that the cost of raw materials and logistics has risen significantly. So with the current budget cap in Formula 1, teams have to think twice before spending their money. Because once the cap is reached, it's too late. So Gasly must watch as his team bring no updates this weekend in Barcelona.

"We have things in the pipeline," Gasly says to F1-Only. "But it the strategy of the team to see first if it is wise to spend your money now. The budget is not unlimited. I was just talking about it with team manager Franz Tost. There is inflation, the cost of logistics because of the war. That was not taken into account last year when the team made their budget."

Consequences become clear

Even if teams maintain their margins - after all, there are always unforeseen costs - running an F1 team is currently even more expensive than previously thought. Gasly therefore thinks that even this season the consequences of the Ukrainian war will become very clear. "There are quite a few teams that will have to stop the development of their car earlier than expected," he said.