Formula 1’s budget cap will arrive too late to close up the field when new technical regulations arrive in 2021, Renault has warned.

An extensive overhaul of the technical regulations is planned for the 2021 season along with a cap limiting how much teams can spend on car development. However Renault’s executive director Marcin Budkowski believes F1 leading teams Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull will be able to sustain their advantage.

“What’s too bad is that the budget cap won’t be implemented until the start of the 2021 season,” Budkowski told Engadget. “However, the 2021 cars will go into development this year and next, with no budget cap applied.

“That means there’s a good chance the big teams will be able to keep their lead and reduce the competitiveness, right from the very start.”

However Renault Sport president Jerome Stoll believes the budget cap, which the team has supported, will ultimately improve the standard of competition in F1.

“Lots of other teams will need to restructure because they’re currently way above that,” he said. “And so, that will let us be more competitive with the big teams.”

“Obviously, the transition will be hard, but we think it’s worth it to create more equality between the teams,” Stoll added. “Mercedes is winning everything, and that bores everyone.”

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2021 F1 season