Formula One is in an interesting predicament. See, they’re trying to shorten the gap between the top teams and everyone else. With the way things have been heading lately, there was no way to slow the “Big 3” down in comparison to everyone else in the sport.

It just wasn’t ever going to happen.

The way to the top in F1 has honestly been ‘how much money are you willing to spend?’ That’s why the top teams in the sport have been literally unbeatable and I do mean unbeatable. Combined, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have won literally every F1 race since the second round of the 2013 season. That’s 139 straight wins for them. Even during the hybrid era that was adopted for 2014 through current, they’ve won all 121 races under these regulations.

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It was virtually unwatchable. So, the best way to make F1 more competitive now — budget caps and new regulations. That’s the only way to save the teams from themselves and slow down Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

Think of it as a salary cap on stick and ball sports here in the US. Teams can’t exceed $145 million. That’s down from the first proposal of $175 million. That in turn pales on what these teams typically pay for a season.

So, if you lower the budget cap to $145 million for 2021 and beyond as well as bringing out a new car with new rules and regulations starting in 2022 now, maybe you shorten the gap between the “Big 3” and everyone else. It could make F1 competitive again.

Sounds great right? Well, the big teams obviously aren’t happy about it. They have the money and resources to stay on top and you’re taking away their advantage. They’re competitors too and they’ve been winning. When they show up at the track, they know they each have a 2-in-6 chance of winning because no other team outside of them can win. Now, you’re telling them that they can’t spend that money anymore. That leads to cutbacks of those teams.

The reason those teams have been fast is because they have the money to spend on the right people. They don’t want to let those people go to other teams with these budget caps. So, they have money to spend and will look to other avenues to do so.

That leads to the NTT IndyCar Series. Ferrari has always hinted on bailing out of F1 and those words have always proven to have just been smoke. Now, I think their warning has some legitimacy to it. On Thursday, reports over in Italy started coming out that Ferrari wasn’t looking at bailing out of F1 per say, they are just going to keep that team in tact and then spend the excess money from their budgets on either IndyCar or WEC.

The big teams had $175 million set aside for 2021 and now you’re telling them to hold $30 million of that aside now. Those are peoples jobs you’re talking about in that figure. Some reports in years past have said that a full time competitive IndyCar program could go in the range of $10-$15 million per car. The money would add up for Ferrari to run two full time F1 teams and two full time Indy Car teams for around that $175 million figure.

Plus, IndyCar is eyeing a third OEM for 2022. That’s when they turn to their new regulations with hybrid power. That’s attractive to Ferrari they say and can jump in for that season and not be behind the eight ball compared to everyone else.

Plus, Dallara is the chassis supplier for the series. They’re based out of Italy, just like Ferrari. While Ferrari would be a welcomed chassis rival, IndyCar isn’t necessarily looking for that unless the Prancing Horses want to go down that road. IndyCar has Firestone, Dallara, Honda and Chevrolet all ready for 2022 and beyond, Ferrari would just be a welcomed added addition.

That then leads to Mercedes. McLaren Racing is teaming up with Mercedes again for 2021 and beyond too. McLaren is in IndyCar and just recently swapped to Chevrolet power. Mercedes has a past history in IndyCar, most notably their 1994 Indy 500 triumph. A McLaren-Mercedes partnership in IndyCar for 2022 could make a ton of sense too in the fact that Mercedes, like Ferrari, has money to burn.

That would boost the OEM’s up to four in IndyCar for 2022 which would be the saving grace that this series has long been searching for. A third OEM is what IndyCar needs to really take off, but a fourth, watch out.

With Fernando Alonso being rumored for a Renault seat for 2021, who’s to say in 2022 he wouldn’t have an interest with Mercedes or Ferrari for an Indy only drive? What about Sebastian Vettel? Lewis Hamilton?

F1’s decision, which I agree with by the way, could in turn help IndyCar too. What would be nice from there is, F1 moving Monaco off Memorial Day weekend in order to allow their drivers to come over to run the ‘500.

While I get F1 fans may scoff at that notion, the Indy 500 is a Memorial Day weekend tradition and the biggest sporting event in the world. Up until 1960, Monaco didn’t run on Memorial Day weekend. The race has taken place in early May, mid May and even early June. It wasn’t until this past century that the race moved to the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Why not move Monaco back up a week or two and allow the F1 drivers to showcase their talents here in America too?

It would be a win-win for all and certainly boost F1’s relevance in America again. If you’re going to start having teams move over and start IndyCar programs, might as well join them to cash in on this too.