Two out of ten teams in 2021 spent more than the budget cap allowed and will be sanctioned for this. This was revealed by the FIA, the International Automobile Federation, at the end of the control work on the Formula 1 accounts.
The teams in question are Aston Martin, which made formal errors, and Red Bull, which made both formal errors and minor violations of the spending ceiling (therefore within 5%, a couple of million euros is assumed.
“All teams have given full support in providing the information required to complete the review of their financial situation and have acted in good faith and in a spirit of collaboration throughout the review process – writes the FIA Cost Cap Administration in a statement – . For this first year we have limited ourselves to auditing the accounts presented by the various teams, without opening investigations ”.
End of the story? Not yet. The FIA must now establish the sanctions. Given the tone of the document, it would be light penalties, probably a fine. However, much less than what rivals expected, in particular Ferrari and Mercedes, who were asking for cuts in future developments for those who had benefited from the extra expenses.
The FIA explains that it will make a decision on schedule. According to rumors, the extra expenses not included in the budget concerned sick workers and catering expenses.