Is F1 turning into Scrapyard Challenge?

[Andy B]

With yet more constraints on the teams finances, check out below: -
https://www.planetf1.com/news/fia-investigation-f1-teams-activities-budget-cap/
I understand them trying to reduce the cost but F1 is about innovation and smart design and to me that is being strangled.
Is there another sport where the amount you spend is restricted to such a degreee?
F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport but is that the case now?

[Warmwater]

It should be about leveling the playing field, and the cost cap might be a clumsy effort to achieve this. Personally, I don't like all of the regulations that are designed to make all of the cars nearly identical and thus hope the result will be better racing. Not happening, it just stifles innovation.

[lkjohnson1950]

Every racing series sooner or later runs into cost trouble. The GTP era of endurance racing died when it got too expensive even for manufacturers to field the exotic beasts. IndyCar died when the split left The 500 with too few teams to fill the 33 car field. Hence the current spec series. Good racing but boring cars. NASCAR has moved to a spec car and the teams are still on the verge of rebelling because they can't make their budgets. If you turned Ferrari, Mercedes, and R/B loose, how long would Haas, or Alpine continue? Not sure what the answer is but except for Max, the grids are about as close as they ever were. 

[John S]

Some of the employees transferred into other projects was necessary to stop bigger redundancies when cost cap came in.

It's all very well setting a budget cap but if they're not careful they'll be seriously reducing good engineers wages in real terms and a brain drain to other industries may occur.

Another gripe I've got is FIA set new criteria for WEC/Le Mans hypercars to attract more marques into endurance racing to end a virtual one dominant brand series.     .....Now they want to complain that anyone doing both F1 & WEC have some sort of advantage. 
Is this the same FIA who wanted a world engine from F1 for various other classes some years back? 

[Jericoke]

It should be about leveling the playing field, and the cost cap might be a clumsy effort to achieve this. Personally, I don't like all of the regulations that are designed to make all of the cars nearly identical and thus hope the result will be better racing. Not happening, it just stifles innovation.

I get the cost cutting measures.

I get the cost cap.

I don't get why you need both.

Set a budget, give a vague definition of an 'F1 Car' and let them go.  If someone can make a car 700 kg car with 700 kg of downforce and zero drag that passes the crashtest, go for it.

[Willy]

I agree Jeri.
Set a budget and let them do what they want with it. As long as the car is safe does it really matter that it looks almost identical to the others? Let the engineers loose to be creative.

[Alianora La Canta]

Many sports have, at various levels, cost caps.

I don't object to recycling. I don't object to teams needing to be careful with their money.

I do object to advantages being long-term locked in, especially (as appears to be the case here) when it's done by breaking rules with the rule-maker's apparent support.