The FIA has issued a statement confirming that all alleged breaches of Formula 1’s Financial Regulations will be investigated appropriately.
It follows reports in the German and Italian press suggesting there are question marks over Red Bull and Aston Martin regarding their financial records from the 2021 season.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, and Gazzetta dello Sport, both British teams overspent by a “considerable amount”.
In response, a statement from the FIA confirmed that any such instances would be investigated and punished appropriately.
“The FIA is currently finalising the assessment of the 2021 financial data submitted by all Formula 1 teams,” an FIA spokesperson said.
“Alleged breaches of the Financial Regulations, if any, will be dealt with according to the formal process set out in the regulations.”
That was followed by a second statement as speculation escalated.
“The FIA is currently finalising the assessment of the 2021 financial data submitted by all Formula 1 teams,” the sport’s governing body asserted.
“Alleged breaches of the Financial Regulations, if any, will be dealt with according to the formal process set out in the regulations.
“The FIA notes significant and unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture in relation to this matter, and reiterates that the assessment is ongoing and due process will be followed without consideration to any external discussion.”
The allegations relate to the $145 million cost cap in place throughout last season, with certificates of compliance over those finances expected to be issued in the coming days.
Last year was the first season in which Formula 1 operated under cost cap regulations, which were heavily slashed from the figures originally planned due to COVID.
That saw a number of teams have to restructure their organisations, making staff redundant or redeploying them elsewhere within the operation – external to its Formula 1 project.
It was a process that also had to adhere to the labour laws in the respective countries: the United Kingdom for the most part, Italy in the case of Ferrari and Scuderia AlphaTauri, and Switzerland for Sauber.
As such, it’s understood there were concessions made, often tailored to the individual team given each had its own circumstances, legal obligations, and options for shedding staff and costs.
“We’re certainly not aware of any [breach],” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports.
“The accounts were submitted back in March, so it’s been a long process with the FIA.
“We’re in that process as we speak. They’re rightly following that process and I think next week is when they declare their certificates.
“Our submission was below the cap, and it’s down to the FIA to follow their process, which they’re currently doing.”
Formula 1 is in Singapore this weekend, where Max Verstappen has his first opportunity to wrap up the drivers’ world championship.
The timing of the allegations becoming public is therefore curious, especially when one considers the nationality of the publications in which they first appeared; German and Italian.
It also comes after the date for the process’s completion has been pushed back twice.
“Inevitably, it’s a brand-new set of regulations and a set of very complicated regulations,” Horner reasoned.
“How the rules are interpreted and applied are going to be subjective between the teams. I’m sure as years go by, things will get tidied up.
“We’re confident in our submission.”
Should a breach be established, there are varying penalties that can be applied, depending on the severity. Those range from fines to the loss of points or even exclusion.
Minor breaches, which are considered under the regulations to be up to $5 million, are punishable by a financial penalty.
It should be noted that, while $145 million was the defined cost cap, concessions afforded to teams could see them spend over that figure while remaining within the rules, or, more simply, an overspend does not necessarily mean a team has broken the rules.
Verstappen delivered Red Bull the drivers’ world championship over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in controversial circumstances at the final race of the 2021 season.
A breach of the financial regulations from the Milton Keynes squad would therefore be of extreme interest to its Brackley-based rivals. So too, for that matter, would it be in the halls of Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello.
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