FIA responds to claims multiple F1 teams have breached cost cap rules

FIA Cost Cap

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FIA responds to claims multiple F1 teams have breached cost cap rules

According to the FIA, allegations that any team have broken rules at this stage are incorrect

Shay Rogers

Thursday 20 July 2023 17:57

The FIA has slammed reports claiming that multiple teams have once more broken the cost cap as "factually wrong".

Both Italian and German media have claimed that at least two teams broke the cost cap rules in 2022, with the FIA denying the accuracy of reports, clarifying that the auditing process is still ongoing.

With the fieldwork currently being conducted, it means that the FIA are yet to understand the exact position of any team and have no exact timeframe for the release of any findings.

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Last year, both Red Bull and Aston Martin were found to be foul of the rules, with the reigning champions receiving a $7 million fine as well as a 10 per cent reduction in wind tunnel time.

FIA claims accusations factually wrong

According to Sky Sports F1’s Craig Slater, who contacted the FIA for clarification on the situation, the reports are “factually wrong”, with any “talk of potential breaches at this stage [being] unfounded”.

Speaking to Autosport, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali called for harsher sporting penalties to be applied to teams who are on the wrong side of the cap.

He said: “I would like the penalty to be sporting in case of infringement, it is something we asked for very clearly.

“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.”

The decision lies with the FIA as to whether to punish teams harder, however, if multiple teams end up breaching the rules, then setting a clear example early on can only be a good thing for the integrity of the sport going forwards to help deter future infringements.