A tug of war over engineering talent Formula 1 has long marketed itself as the pinnacle of automotive engineering, a meritocracy where the world’s brightest minds compete in a high-speed arms race. For decades, the trade-off for the sport’s grueling hours and relentless travel was a simple economic pact: F1 paid better, offered more prestige, and provided a technical challenge unmatched by any other industry. However, the introduction of the Financial Regulations—specifically