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• Helmut Marko believes will best benefit from F1's budget cap
• Bigger teams have to cut staff to comply to the cap
• New wind tunnel regulations to come into effect
McLaren could be a winner of the budget cap measures set to take effect next year.
That is the view of Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko, who told Auto Motor und Sport that McLaren is set to benefit from faster rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull needing to significantly slash staff numbers.
Marko said: "McLaren's change from Renault to Mercedes engines can also bypass some of the homologation rules and intervene in areas that are closed to others. There are loopholes. McLaren is getting closer, they are well positioned in terms of staff and technology and they will have a competitive engine from next year.
"But it won't be a matter of one year to the next."
Which team(s) do you think will benefit most from F1's budget cap? Email us.
Ferrari F1 team. Image: TeamTalk
Wind tunnel regulations
In contrast, Marko says Red Bull Racing will have to "get smaller" to come in under the recently-reduced 2021 budget cap amount of $145-million.
Also coming in for 2021 is a rule allowing teams that are placed lower in the world championship standings to do more wind tunnel testing than their faster rivals.
READ: Formula 1 unveils eight-race schedule in Europe from July 5
A source at Ferrari said: "It would have been better to link the wind tunnel bonus to the budget rather than the championship position. Those with less money should be allowed to test more in the wind tunnel. The way it is now, some teams will wonder whether they are better off finishing ninth instead of eighth to get more wind tunnel time for the 2022 car."
