F1: FIA announces 2021 Cost Cap breaches by two F1 teams

The FIA have announced that two teams have breached the 2021 Financial Regulations.

According to the FIA, who released their findings into a cost cap investigation on the Monday after the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Aston Martin are in ‘Procedural Breach’.

Red Bull have committed a Procedural Breach and a Minor Financial Overspend (less than 5% of the Cost Cap), according to the FIA.

Williams were found to have made a Procedural Breach in May 2022 that the team then rectified in a “timely, cooperative and transparent manner”.

“The review of the Reporting Documentation submitted has been an intensive and thorough process, and all Competitors gave their full support in providing the required information to assess their financial situation during this first year of the Financial Regulations. The FIA Cost Cap Administration notes that all Competitors acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and cooperation throughout the process,” stated the FIA.

“The FIA would also note that with respect to this first year of the application of the Financial Regulations the intervention of the FIA Cost Cap Administration has been limited to reviewing the submissions made by the Competitors and that no full formal investigations were launched.

“The FIA Cost Cap Administration is currently determining the appropriate course of action to be taken under the Financial Regulations with respect to Aston Martin and Red Bull and further information will be communicated in compliance with the Regulations.”

Procedural Breaches and Minor Overspend Breaches can result in financial penalties and/or minor sporting penalties. FIA Press Release

Red Bull Response

Red Bull, meanwhile, issued a response to the findings on social media which read: “We note the findings by the FIA of ‘Minor Overspend Breaches of the Financial Regulations’ with surprise and disappointment.

“Our 2021 submission was below the Cost Cap limit, so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 Cost Cap amount.

“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”

Course of Action per Autosport

The first avenue that will be open to Aston Martin and Red Bull is what is referred to as an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA).

This is where the teams accept they have done wrong, and agree to abide by certain actions that will be taken by the FIA’s Cost Cap Administration.

To go through with an ABA, teams must acknowledge they broke the rules, accept and observe any sanctions handed out, agree to bear costs and waive any rights they have to challenge the ABA.

The ABA can then lay out obligations for the team to fulfil, provide for enhanced monitoring, impose financial penalties and certain minor sporting penalties, and set out costs the teams must face.

As an enticement to go down the ABA route, teams that are deemed to be deserving of a minor sporting penalty, cannot lose constructors’ championship points, drivers’ championship points or a reduction in the cost cap, which are options if they try to challenge the cost cap decision.

This leaves them only with the possibility of a public reprimand, suspension from one or more stages of a competition (excluding the race) or limitations on aerodynamic or other testing.

If Aston Martin and Red Bull do not accept an ABA, or the FIA deems that it is inappropriate to go down that route, then a hearing of the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel will be set up.

This panel is made up of between six and 12 judges elected by the FIA General Assembly who will then hear the details of the cases, including representation from the teams and any witnesses who are relevant to the matter.

After the hearing, a verdict must be reached by a majority of the judges on whether the party was guilty or not. In the event of a deadlock, the nominated president of the hearing will have a further casting vote.

The panel will then hand out any of the sanctions detailed in the rules.

Should a guilty team not be happy with the outcome, then a further appeal could be made to the FIA’s own International Court of Appeal.