Komatsu: F1 teams united against Audi 2026 cost-cap offset
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Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that nine Formula 1 teams stand in opposition to the FIA's proposal to offer Audi a cost cap advantage in 2026 to account for the higher wages associated with Sauber's Swiss-based operations.
Komatsu voiced strong concerns over the plan, warning it could lead to significant complications and open a "can of worms" in the sport's financial regulations.
The current Sauber team, soon to become Audi's factory team, faces theoretical financial disadvantages compared to its F1 competitors based in the UK or Italy.
Using Swiss wage data from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the FIA aims to address these disparities with an amendment to the 2026 cost cap rules that would offset the higher cost of living and wages in Switzerland.
Komatsu has been vocal in its criticism of the FIA's proposal, arguing that it sets a dangerous precedent.
"Why does a team based in Switzerland have an exemption? Everybody chooses where to set up the team. Between London and Oxford and north of England, prices are different," explained the Haas chief.
"So where do you stop? Where do you draw the line? And if you look at those things, you have to look at all the social benefits and everything, and also [for] people to live in Switzerland, the reasoning can be different , right?
"You know, I remember a long time ago trying to hire someone from Sauber, but this guy loved the team, loved mountains. So he didn't want to come to England. So all those things come into the equation.
"I think it's very dangerous to look at one dimension and say, 'Okay, it's more expensive here', you can just look at the price of a beer or something, and then saying, 'Okay, it's more expensive – therefore you should give an exemption'."
Komatsu revealed that opposition to the FIA's proposal is nearly unanimous among F1 teams.
Haas team main Ayao Komatsu.
"In F1 Commission meetings, apart from Sauber funnily enough, everyone's against it. So, I don't know why FIA is just completely pushing for it," he said.
He has also questioned the fairness of addressing Switzerland's cost challenges while ignoring economic variances in other countries, such as Italy, where teams like Ferrari and Red Bull's Italian facilities operate.
"Then you have to say, how about those guys in Italy? Ferrari, RB's got some facilities in Italy as well. And also we have a half-Italian facility, half-UK facility, where do you stop?"
The Japanese engineer pointed out that Italy provides tax benefits for the first four years for incoming professionals, a factor that further complicates any attempt to standardize financial rules.
"In terms of Italy, there's a huge tax benefit for the first [four] years. It's actually to compete for, like when Loic Serra went from Mercedes to Ferrari, right?
"I don't want to use him as an example, but a senior engineer going from UK to Italy, there is certain financial big benefit in Italy. So are you compensating for that? Of course not."
©Sauber
Beyond this specific issue, Komatsu criticized the FIA's broader regulatory approach, arguing that increasing complexity often introduces new challenges.
"Unless you look at every single dimension, it's very, very difficult to make it completely fair. Can you look at every single dimension? I don't think so," he said.
"I don't want to criticize the FIA too much, but you can see on other rules as well – sporting rules, like how we do these safety car times in qualifying, track limits, all those things."
He cautioned that overregulation could backfire.
"The more you regulate it by defining certain details, you've got to make sure you cover every single scenario, but the more you go in details, it goes more difficult to cover those, [you] create another problem, right?" Komatsu argued.
"So if they say, 'Switzerland exempt', what's next? It's like this safety car time issue in the qualifying, and they did that, to try and to solve one issue in qualifying, out lap etc, but then created another issue.
"So for me, it's so much better to keep it simple."
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