Audi F1 salary exemption concern with ‘very dangerous’ precedent fear

Ayao Komatsu, the Haas team principal, fears the FIA are setting a “very dangerous” precedent with plans to grant the Audi F1 team a salary exemption from F1 2026.

Audi F1, who will take over the existing Sauber team in 2026, received a boost recently when it emerged that the FIA is to adjust F1’s budget cap for F1 2026 to offset the costs of operating out of Switzerland.

Audi F1 exemption under scrutiny as Haas boss voices concerns

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

Salaries in Switzerland are around 35-45 per cent higher than in the United Kingdom or Italy, where the other nine teams are situated.

While the leading three teams in F1 have an average salary level of £90,000, Sauber’s number is around £125,000.

It is thought that the concessions will allow Audi F1 to become competitive more quickly when the German manufacturer arrives on the grid in F1 2026, with the move welcomed by team chief Mattia Binotto.

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Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com Komatsu, – whose Haas team have facilities in Banbury (UK) and Kannapolis (USA), as well as technical partnerships with Ferrari and Dallara (Italy) and Japanese manufacturer Toyota – has revealed that Audi F1’s competitors are united against the plans.

He said: “Why does a team based in Switzerland have an exemption? Everybody chooses where to set up the team.

“Between London and Oxford and the north of England, prices are different. So where do you stop? Where 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 living in Switzerland, the reasoning can be different.

“I remember, a long time ago, trying to hire somebody from Sauber, but this guy loved climbing mountains so he didn’t want to come to England! All those things come into the equation.

“I think it’s very dangerous to look up one dimension and say, ‘OK, it’s more expensive here.’ You can just look at the price of a beer or something and then say, OK, it’s more expensive, therefore you should give exemption.

“You’re free to set up wherever you want.

“In the F1 Commission meeting, everybody’s against it apart from Sauber, so I don’t know why the FIA is completely just pushing for it.

“And also, then you have to say: how about those guys in Italy? Ferrari? VCARB has got a facility in Italy as well. And also we have a half-Italian facility, half-UK facility – where do you stop?

“If a senior engineer is going from UK to Italy, there is certain financial big benefit in Italy. So are you compensating for that? Of course not.

“So where do you stop? 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.

“I think it’s very dangerous to do that, to be honest.”

Put to him the the Audi F1 decision could also have repercussions for engine manufacturers, who have operated under a budget cap since the start of 2023, Komatsu added: “Where do you draw the line?

“I don’t want to criticise the FIA too much, but you can see it in the other rules as well, sporting rules, like how we do safety car timing, qualifying, track limits, all those things.

“The more you regulate it by defining certain details, the more details you go to, you’ve got to make sure you cover every single scenario.

“But the more you go in detail, it’s more difficult to cover those creating another problem.

“So if they say Switzerland are exempt, what’s next? For me, it’s so much better to keep it simple.”

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