Any proposed cap on the salaries of Components One drivers ought to be cautious to not maintain again the game’s high expertise, newly topped seven-times champion Lewis Hamilton stated on Thursday.
Components One has been discussing a cap on driver salaries as a part of a wider effort to stage the monetary taking part in subject between the wealthiest and poorest groups on the grid.
“I am not personally against it,” the Briton, who equalled Michael Schumacher’s file haul of seven titles on the final race in Turkey, instructed reporters in a video convention name on the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“I do take into consideration the subsequent up and coming younger stars which can be coming via and I do not significantly see why they need to be handicapped in the event that they’re bringing one thing large to the game.”
The game has already agreed a $145 million cap on groups’ general budgets for subsequent 12 months which is about to scale back additional to $140 million in 2022.
The wage cap, nevertheless, is just not part of these measures and remains to be a way away, with a proposal calling for it to be applied in 2023 put earlier than the Components One Fee in October.
“When you take a look at different sports activities, there have been wage caps in a few of these sports activities… I feel the one distinction is that these locations the people personal their picture in lots of areas, they’ll attempt to maximise their picture elsewhere,” stated Hamilton.
“This sport controls just about the motive force’s picture,” added the 35-year-old, who earns an estimated 40 million kilos ($53.40 million) a 12 months and is in negotiations over an extension to his Mercedes contract which is about to run out on the finish of this 12 months.
The drivers have been the celebrities of the game and Components One wanted to recognise that, stated Hamilton, who having surpassed Schumacher’s tally of race wins, podiums and pole positions is now probably the most profitable driver within the sport’s historical past.
“It’s a multi-billion greenback sport and they need to be rewarded for what they do convey to it,” he added.