F1: The FIA confirms all 10 teams met the 2022 cost cap

All 10 Formula 1 teams operated within the Cost Cap, which for 2022 was set at $140m, the FIA has announced.

The Financial Regulations were introduced from the start of the 2021 season in a bid to limit spending and ensure the long-term viability of the championship.

Teams are required to submit accounts of their annual spending against the Cost Cap for the year by the following March.

Last year, Williams and Aston Martin were found to be in ‘procedural breach’, while Red Bull were deemed to have committed a ‘procedural breach and a minor financial overspend (less than 5% of the Cost Cap)’.

Williams and Aston Martin received financial penalties. Red Bull were handed a more significant fine alongside a reduction in their wind tunnel testing allowance.

FIA Press Release

The FIA confirms that its Cost Cap Administration has now completed the review of the Reporting Documentation submitted by each Competitor that participated in the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship in respect of the 2022 Full-Year Reporting Period ending on 31 December 2022.

The FIA Cost Cap Administration has issued certificates of compliance to all of the ten Competitors.

The review has been an intensive and thorough process, beginning with a detailed analysis of the documentation submitted by the competitors. Additionally, there has been an extensive check of any non-F1 activities undertaken by the teams, which comprised multiple on-site visits to team facilities and careful auditing procedures to assess compliance with 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.

The FIA also notes that the Financial Regulations are essential to the long-term financial stability of the sport, and that they will continue to be developed and refined based on the findings of each review process both in terms of the regulations themselves, which are written and approved under the FIA Formula 1 governance process, and the way in which they are enforced and policed. The FIA has made and will continue to make significant investments in this department for the collective benefit of the sport.

Financial Regulations were introduced in the FIA Formula One World Championship from the 2021 season following unanimous approval of the Competitors. The intention of the Financial Regulations is to limit spending in the Championship to ensure the long-term viability of the Championship and encourage convergence in performance between Competitors, thus creating more exciting racing.

The regulations are highly complex, reflecting the complexity of the sport as a whole. The process whereby the submissions of the Competitors are then audited by the FIA Cost Cap Administration requires a significant amount of work, which has, thanks to additional resource commitments made by the FIA, been carried out in a shorter time frame than in the first year of implementation. This is analogous to the timeframe seen in other major sporting competitions. For more information on this process, click here.

The Cost Cap Administration is responsible for administering, monitoring compliance with the Financial Regulations, investigating instances of suspected non-compliance through the auditing process or by launching full investigations if it considers this warranted, and taking appropriate enforcement action in respect of any alleged breaches.

The Cost Cap Administration has several options when dealing with an alleged breach of the Financial Regulations. It can enter, when deemed appropriate, into a settlement referred to as an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the Competitor concerned in case of Procedural Breach or Minor Overspend Breach, or, if no agreement can be reached or the Cost Cap Administration considers it more appropriate, it can refer the case to the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel. In the event of an alleged Major Overspend Breach the Cost Cap Administration must refer the case to the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel.

The Cost Cap Adjudication Panel comprises a panel of between six and twelve judges elected by the FIA General Assembly in accordance with the FIA Statutes from among the candidates proposed by either the FIA Sport Member Associations entitled to vote or a group of not less than five F1 Teams.

Procedural Breaches can result in Financial Penalties and/or Minor Sporting Penalties (in case of aggravating factors) as detailed in the Financial Regulation. Minor Overspend breach (<5% Cost Cap) can result in Financial Penalties and/or Minor Sporting Penalties. Only a Material Overspend breach (>5% Cost Cap) if confirmed before the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel will result in a mandatory Constructors’ Championship points deductions and can result in additional Financial Penalties and/or Material Sporting Penalties.

Click here to read the Financial Regulations in full.