(Motorsports news) Each F1 team will be given a certificate of conformity if they reach the cap, which is $135 million plus additional funds, between January 1 and December 31, 2022. This follows the incident from the previous year, when Red Bull was discovered to have overspent by almost $1.8 million, for which it was penalized financially and had to reduce the amount of aerodynamic testing it was allowed by 10%.
The FIA also stated that despite past controversies with teams employing engineering offshoots to influence their F1 projects, non-F1 activities within each team were thoroughly examined, along with on-site visits, but none were found to have violated the cap. This gap in the system has been closed.
Despite early in the season’s rumors that there were F1 teams who had in fact violated the rules pertaining to the cap, no procedural breaches – connected to either erroneous adjustment of expenses or incorrect filing of the necessary documentation – were recorded either. The controlling organization reported that “The FIA Cost Cap Administration has issued certificates of compliance to all ten Competitors.”
“The assessment process has been lengthy and meticulous, starting with a careful examination of the supporting materials provided by the rivals. In addition, there has been a thorough investigation into any non-F1 operations carried out by the teams. This investigation included numerous on-site visits to team facilities and meticulous auditing methods to evaluate compliance with the Financial Regulations.
“The FIA Cost Cap Administration notes that all Competitors at all times acted in a spirit of good faith and cooperation throughout the process.” This follows the controversy from the previous year’s F1, when it was determined that Red Bull had overspent by about $1.8 million. As a result, it was fined $7 million and had to reduce the amount of aerodynamic testing it was allowed to conduct by 10%, which is considered a “Minor Overspend Breach” and represents less than 5% of the total cost cap value.
Aston Martin received a $450,000 penalty for a procedural misstep in the auditing of last year that had to do with the adjustment of expenditures for its new Silverstone location. A “Material Overspend Breach” is the most serious of the breaches listed in the regulations and refers to an overspend of more than 5% of the cost cap amount. If this occurs, the FIA may choose to apply further financial or sporting sanctions in addition to deducting championship points based on the severity of the violation.
Also read: Wolff: only Red Bull’s “mistake” will stop an F1 clean sweep
