FIA make major announcement on F1 2022 cost cap spending

Henry Valantine
FIA flag on display at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix. Netherlands, September 2022. Budget cap Red Bull

FIA flag on display at the Dutch Grand Prix. Netherlands, September 2022.

The FIA has confirmed that all 10 Formula 1 teams were in compliance with the sport’s cost cap for the 2022 season.

The teams had to submit their accounts and spending reports to the sport’s governing body to ensure they came under the budget cap limit, set at $140m for last season, and auditing has now been completed for accounts in the year ending 31 December 2022.

With that, the FIA has announced that all 10 teams were compliant with last season’s rules, coming in under budget – closing the possibility of budget cap penalties, as seen with Red Bull following their minor overspend breach of the 2021 cap.

This time around, certificates of compliance have been issued to all 10 teams on the grid, with the FIA noting: “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.”

Formula 1 teams will have to deal with ever-tightening budget cap constraints by the time the accounts are published for next season, with the spending ceiling lowering to $135m for the next three seasons.

PlanetF1.com建议

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The budget cap was introduced by the FIA in 2021 to try and limit the amount that teams can spend over the course of a season – curbing the ability those with higher resources to spend on an unfettered basis, while allowing smaller teams the opportunity to compete on a more equal playing field.

The cap notably does not include the salaries of the drivers and each team’s three highest-paid personnel, with the rules encompassing team spending across the board in Formula 1, related to racing activities.

Red Bull were the only team to fall foul of the financial regulations last year, with the FIA finding them to have committed a ‘minor overspend breach’ in the 2021 season, of around $2.2million, while Aston Martin were found to have committed a procedural breach while submitting their accounts.

As a result,Red Bull were hit with a $7million fine by the FIAand a 10% reduction in their aerodynamic testing allowance, hindering their ability to test new parts in the team’s wind tunnel this season.

然而,这一次没有这样的问题with all 10 teams coming in on budget for the 2022 season.

Read next:Examined: Has Lewis Hamilton really had tougher team-mates than Max Verstappen?

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