Teams and the business

The cost cap, testing limits, driver contracts, licences and how the money works.

• The cost capEvery F1 team has a limit on how much it can spend on its car each year. In 2026 the cap is $215 million, with some big costs such as driver pay left out.
• Wind tunnel and CFD limitsTeams are limited in how much wind tunnel and computer simulation work they can do, and the better a team did in the championship, the less it gets.
• TestingF1 teams get very little track time outside race weekends. Here's what testing is allowed, from pre-season running to tyre tests and runs in older cars.
• The super licenceEvery F1 driver needs an FIA super licence. To get one, most drivers need 40 points from junior series over three years, plus a minimum age and F1 mileage.
• Driver contracts and the transfer marketHow F1 drivers move between teams, what goes into their contracts, and how the FIA's Contract Recognition Board settles disputes when two teams claim the same driver.
• Rookies and reserve driversEvery team must give practice time to rookies four times a season, and keeps reserve drivers ready to step in when a race driver can't drive.
• Prize money and how teams make moneyWhere an F1 team's money comes from: its share of the sport's revenue under the Concorde Agreement, sponsors, owners and engine deals.
• How a new team joins F1A new team needs approval from both the FIA and Formula 1, and has to pay the existing teams a large anti-dilution fee. Cadillac became the 11th team in 2026.
• Engine manufacturers and customer teamsFive manufacturers build F1 power units in 2026: Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Red Bull Ford and Audi. Here's who supplies whom, and how the ADUO catch-up rule works.