F1 paddock divided on rule which will impact every single team with meeting date set

The 2026 F1 season will soon come to an end, with only three more Grand Prix left, which are set to take place in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

As Kimi Antonelli was crowned the Drivers’ Champion, and his team, Mercedes, were awarded the Constructors’ crown, all eyes will be looking towards next season as everyone aims to be in the conversation for this silverware next campaign.

However, before all the teams turn their attention to this, they have to ensure a new law regarding the cost cap rules is approved. At the moment, the Formula One paddock is split on whether it should be voted in.

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F1 paddock split on new rules

There could be sweeping changes to cost cap rules, with discussions set to be held when an “ADUO for teams” proposal is debated at the Formula 1 Commission.

Williams team boss James Vowles has tabled the idea of a spending catch-up mechanism to help F1 teams escape what he thinks has become a “cost cap trap”, as revealed by the Race.

At present, he believes it is difficult for smaller teams to catch up with the bigger constructors, so he wants a sliding scale catch-up system within the cost cap that allows the teams outside of the top four to spend more.

Essentially, it means that those teams that finish at the bottom of the standings get greater financial freedom to help them close the gap to squads at the front.

Vowles had originally hoped to get enough backing for the plan to get voted through the F1 Commission and into the rulebook as early as next year.

Yet, for this to happen, he requires support from the FIA, FOM, plus six of the current 11 teams.

However, at the time of writing, it is believed that it will not get the backing of six teams, as only Cadillac, Alpine, Aston Martin, and Audi seem supportive so far of the Williams proposal.

F1 fans may be surprised to read that Haas and Racing Bulls do not appear to be backing the proposal, but the former is not near the current cost cap limit, so is not limited in spending.

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Major Constructors unlikely to back the idea

Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes are unlikely to vote for this idea of an “ADUO for teams” as they have little to gain from this; they would just be helping their rivals catch up to them.

However, they may not be happy with the current cost cap measures, as they may believe that it is not competitive enough, and so may vote for some sort of change in the future.

One of the hottest topics among them is the way that current cost cap limits are impacting the retention of staff and the ability of F1 as a whole to keep hold of the brightest engineers.

So, they may look for a change to ensure that they keep the best engineers on their team and in the sport to help elevate F1 further.

A strong argument that is now gathering some pace is for the cost cap to evolve and separate spending on parts and spending on people.

As has long been the case with F1’s rules, only the three highest-paid personnel within an organisation are exempt from being included within the cost cap.