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# Rivals reject Williams proposal for F1 cost cap reform
- URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/rivals-reject-williams-proposal-for-f1-cost-cap-reform/
- Published: 2026-10-09T12:38:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-09T12:40:04.000Z
- Description: Williams looks set to fall short of securing enough support to change Formula 1’s cost cap rules for 2027, with key rivals rejecting the idea of a revamp
- Author: Jon Noble
- Tags: Formula 1, #singapore-grand-prix, #williams, #mercedes, #mclaren, #racing-bulls, #secondary_feature_2, Business, f1experiences

Williams looks set to fall short of securing enough support to change Formula 1’s cost cap rules for 2027, with key rivals rejecting the idea of a revamp.

Off the back of a [push by Williams team principal James Vowles](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/why-red-bull-is-crucial-to-f1-cost-cap-overhaul/) to introduce a catch-up mechanism within the financial regulations, the matter looks set to go to a team vote at the next F1 Commission meeting.

For the changes to go through it would need backing from six of the current 11 teams, while revisions to the regulations for 2028 would need just four in favour.

It is understood that Vowles’ plans to hand smaller teams extra freedom for investment has broad backing from four other teams – Alpine, Aston Martin, Audi and Cadillac.

If that support continued into an actual vote, with its own approval thrown into the mix, that would leave Williams just one away from being able to get things through for next year.

However, that critical sixth vote may be difficult to achieve. Haas is believed to be against a change, while one of Vowles’ potential key targets – Racing Bulls – has now indicated that it is not in favour of any change either.

Team principal Alan Permane said at the Singapore Grand Prix that he felt the current cost cap rules worked well as he felt there was enough freedom within them for squads to make necessary capital investments.

“I don't think we would support a wholesale change to the cost cap rules to start being able to spend huge amounts more money,” he said, when asked by The Race about his thoughts on Vowles’ idea.

“I think it's served us very well for the six years we're into it now. I think it's served Formula 1 very, very well.

“Maybe there are tweaks to do for sure. But if you want to spend a whole load of money on CapEx \[capital expenditure\], you can. The mechanism's in there.

“So, if James wants to go and spend a hundred million on something, he can do that. He can just pay it off over the next number of years.”

F1’s biggest teams are also against opening up the CapEx rules, as they think this could risk everyone losing the benefits of the cost cap – which has helped make teams more sustainable and close the field up.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff does not like the idea of a sliding scale of extra benefit for the less performing teams as he felt this would be akin to having balance of performance.

However, he feels there are grounds to consider other changes to the cost cap rules, which he reckoned were hurting bigger outfits – like an inability to pay high enough wages to stop other industries grabbing the best talent.

“It’s suppressing salaries,” he said. “We were always an aspirational sport. We attracted the best talent from the best universities because of the possibilities you had in F1.

“Now you can get someone into a F1 team today on enthusiasm. But at a certain stage when after five, six or seven years and you have a PhD, your salaries are still depressed versus a tech company or a hedge fund or investment banking, that becomes a problem.”

Wolff also suggested that his team was being hurt as much as smaller teams by annual operational budgets being pegged back by previous capital expenditure.

“The teams that spend a lot in the past on CapEx, like us for example, have a huge amount of costs that we need to depreciate in the cost cap,” he said. “The ones that haven't spent a lot obviously have much more possibility to spend on infrastructure or whatever you want to.

“I have super sympathy with a team like Williams and with James, he's super clever, but we just need to find the right balance of not undoing something that we actually consciously changed a year or two ago.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown reckoned it was best for teams to decide where they wanted to spend money – either more capital expenditure or more on car parts and development.

“Now you have a decision to make where to invest, just like you have a decision to make on what drivers you want to bring on board,” he said.

“I think it's complicated. But I think if you look last year, it was the closest grid in the history of Formula 1\. When I was growing up racing, most of the time it was one or two teams winning. Now it's four, and a fifth got a pole this year.

“So, I think the sport's extremely competitive as it is, but I'm always open to any conversation.” 

Vowles said in Singapore on Friday that if he could not secure enough support to get things through for next year, he would still push for changes to come in by 2028.