

That process has been done closely with the teams and in recent weeks has been in a stage of final checks, meaning any team that may have overspent would likely know by now that they could be in line for a penalty.Įven with additional clarifications over what falls under the budget cap since March, Horner says Red Bull is "significantly below, and with the clarifications we should be even further below". The teams submitted their accounts in March, meaning there has been over six months of auditing by the FIA. The process of auditing the team's accounts is supposed to be confidential, which is one of the reasons Horner was so irate when rivals accused his team of overspending. For weeks, even months, there have been rumours that certain teams may have exceeded the budget cap, but until the FIA issues its certificates of compliance on Wednesday we won't know for sure. Perhaps not as much as some of the headlines last weekend suggested. LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images What do we know so far?

Next year the target will be set at $135 million, although that figure will also be adjusted to come in line with inflation and additional races. Prior to the budget cap, the top teams had been spending well in excess of $400 million, and while the cap doesn't cover everything, the factors that directly impact car development are now kept in check.įor the first season of the cap last year it was set at $145 million and this year it has reduced to $140 million, although that number has since been altered to compensate for rising inflation this year and additional races and sprint races.

In order to level the playing field and avoid huge brands spending their way to success, F1 and the FIA introduced a budget cap in 2021 in the hope that it would level the playing field by putting the emphasis on each team's ingenuity rather than the depth of their pockets. From wind tunnels at factories to wheel guns in the pit lane, there are big differences in the equipment each team uses, which invariably leads to big differences in performance on track. Wolff: Budget cap breach would be heavyweight issueį1 is, and always has been, a sport of vast inequalities.Why does F1 have a budget cap? Editor's Picks If it is found that a team did overspend last year, it will then enter a process to determine a sanction, which could range from a financial penalty to, in the most extreme cases, exclusion or suspension from the world championship. The story divided F1's paddock, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner adamant that the accounts his team submitted in March fell under the budget cap and are compliant with the FIA's financial regulations.Īston Martin was also rumoured to have overspent in 2021, but again the news was fuelled by whispers in the paddock, with official findings from the FIA only due to be announced on Wednesday this week when certificates of compliance will be issued to teams that met the cap last year. The biggest talking point over the Singapore Grand Prix was not Max Verstappen's imminent championship success but accusations that his team, Red Bull, may have overspent under Formula One's new budget cap last year.
