F1 chiefs demand huge FIA penalties amid claim teams may have breached cost cap

19 July 2023 , 16:59

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The FIA is responsible for enforcing F1 budget cap rules (Image: Getty Images)

Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali wants any team found guilty of breaching cost cap rules last season to be slapped with a significant sporting penalty.

Budget cap rules were introduced for the first time in 2021, with the auditing process taking much of the following season to complete. Late last campaign, it was revealed that Red Bull had overspent.

They were slapped with a £6m fine and had 10 per cent of their wind tunnel time taken away over the following 12 months. That sporting sanction was handed out after it was determined that the team had gone over the cap by £1.8m.

However, despite Red Bull's assertions that it would have a "significant" effect on their performance, they have won all 10 races so far this season and have by far the quickest car on the grid.

The FIA handed out that sanction to Red Bull and will do so again to any teams found to have breached the rules last season. F1 chief Domenicali wants any guilty parties to feel the effects of any punishment that is given.

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"I would like the penalty to be sporting in case of infringement, it is something we asked for very clearly," said the Italian. "There are three regulations to be respected: sporting, technical and financial. Any infractions must be punished with sporting measures. You can't go in other directions."

His words come as rumours emerge from Europe that there may indeed be teams found guilty of an overspend. The Italian branch of Motorsport.com suggested that three teams may be in hot water, while Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that two teams went over the cap.

F1 chief Stefano Domenicali wants any team which overspends to be punished heavily (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

However, the FIA is adamant that, at this stage, and reports of potential breaches are "completely unfounded". That's because the process to determine whether or not the 10 teams complied across the 2022 season has not yet been concluded.

"The auditing fieldwork is still ongoing and is scheduled to conclude in the upcoming weeks, after which there will be a period of required for the finalisation of the review," a spokesperson for the governing body told Mirror Sport.

"There is not, and has never been, a specific deadline for certification, and any suggestions of delays to this process or potential breaches are completely unfounded.

"The Cost Cap Administration will formally communicate its findings according to the procedure set out in the Financial Regulations. The timeframe is intentionally not fixed in order not to prejudice the robustness and the effectiveness of the review."

Daniel Moxon