FIA tightens F1 cost-cap controls with strict staff separation

Formula 1 teams will face strict separation between their F1 and non-F1 operations from 2027, under new regulations approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council. The measures cover factory access, shared workspaces, digital systems and staff transfers, aiming to prevent non-F1 personnel from contributing to racing programmes without the cost being charged to the cap.

The rules follow repeated concerns that specialist divisions working on other technologies could still provide knowledge to F1 teams. Previous FIA measures required transferred intellectual property to be accounted for and mandated that the full salary of anyone contributing to an F1 operation be included under the cap. The governing body was not satisfied those steps went far enough.

The issue sits within a broader debate over cost-cap pressure, including calls for stronger limits discussed in our report on the push to give smaller teams a chance.

Factory access and IT systems must be kept apart

Teams must divide their factories into controlled areas for F1 and non-F1 personnel. Electronic access controls will be mandatory, and teams must retain entry records for three years for FIA review. Staff from the two groups cannot share offices or carry out their core work in communal spaces such as canteens, corridors and parking areas.

Facilities that serve both sides, including windtunnels, simulators and dynos, can be designated as restricted shared areas. But the two groups cannot use them at the same time, and information must not cross between them. Their IT systems must also be completely separate, with neither group able to access the other’s systems. The regulations prohibit attempts to bypass the controls through messaging tools, external drives, contracts or staff redeployment.

Information may pass from an F1 operation to its non-F1 counterpart in limited circumstances. The reverse flow is prohibited.

Staff moves carry cooling-off periods and salary conditions

A non-F1 employee moving into an F1 role must first complete a three-month cooling-off period, with no work for either side and no access to restricted IT. Their new contract must then require a year of exclusive F1 work.

Moves in the opposite direction also require a new contract and fresh IT permissions, including a new email address active by the end of the employee’s final working day on the F1 side. The person must then undertake only non-F1 work for 12 months, while their salary remains inside that year’s cost cap.

The regulations drew resistance from several teams, but the FIA pushed them through. Some squads may need to change their working arrangements to meet the new requirements—a significant operational challenge as they manage spending and development, issues also reflected in Aston Martin’s explanation of its upgrade dilemma.