Ecclestone pushing for F1 ’budget cap’

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he is pushing to introduce a ’budget cap’ in formula one.

Reports indicate the F1 supremo envisages a team’s maximum spending at US $250 million per year.

"We are definitely looking at a budget cap," the Briton, who turns 82 on Sunday, told the Times of India.

"The cap will include everything, even driver retainers," said Ecclestone. "But at the moment it’s my idea. Only about 50 per cent of the people support me on this."

The smaller teams are undoubtedly among those who favour the idea of spending limits, but McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh thinks the $250m idea will not be too helpful to them.

"It sounds like quite a lot of money, so I don’t know how much it’s going to help too many teams," he told the BBC.

Whitmarsh does not, however, think Ecclestone’s figure should therefore be lower, as he thinks the idea is too simplistic.

"It (a total cap) has the elegance that you can describe it very quickly but it is very difficult then to find out where that money is and (how) to control it," he said.