Formula 1 recently published a preliminary analysis regarding the 2022 budget cap, highlighting how Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, and Aston Martin have been forced to seek further clarification regarding expenses incurred during the previous season. There is concern among the Federation representatives. Ending up with four teams under investigation at the end of this year, with two of them already penalized last year, would be seen as a sort of failure for the cost containment rule.
Technical Directive #45, the rule that should help uncover the cheaters
However, the FIA insists on carrying on its battles and, in an attempt to uncover all the cheaters, recently introduced Technical Directive #45. This rule includes in the cost cap all transfers of intellectual property from elements considered “not relevant to F1” to the teams.
Wolff: “They will find out if someone cheated. 100 questions just for clarifications”
According to the Mercedes team principal, this practice was widespread among the teams until recently: “Certainly, it was used. I believe many did. However, the Federation has done a great job in this regard. There was a significant deployment of resources only on us. I have no doubt they did the same with other teams. If someone cheated, they will find out.”
“They bombarded us with questions,” Toto Wolff continued in an interview with ‘Motorsport.com’. “It was a time-consuming task, and while enforcing the regulations, especially regarding the budget cap, may seem difficult, it’s nice to see the commitment that the Federation puts into the checks. I think their approach is the right one. At the end of their work, they wanted further details. In that session alone, we received about 100 additional questions.”
Toto Wolff doesn’t hide anything, even in front of the microphones. Mercedes is involved in other non-F1 activities, such as the America’s Cup, but according to the Austrian manager, there is no reason to be concerned: “Our team operates as a single entity. Among the non-F1 activities, we have the America’s Cup, one of the most important for our customers outside the world of Formula 1. Everything is transparent. All the accounting books have been made available. We haven’t created any subsidiaries or other companies, and there are no cross-holdings. We have nothing to hide,” he concluded.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Horner: “Ferrari presents itself in a slightly different way than us”
The other team that has come under the scrutiny of the Federation, even twice, is Red Bull. Team principal Christian Horner also appears quite confident in the work done this year: “We’ve had a very constructive period with the FIA. We have a huge amount of processes in place regarding compliance. As regulations like TD45 solidify and become law, it creates greater clarity. I think the issue in the early days is the ambiguity of a brand new rule. As the regulations mature in many aspects, everything becomes clearer.”
“We didn’t have to change anything following TD45,” the British team principal stated, as reported by ‘Motorsport.com’. “Obviously, teams have very different structures. Ferrari, for example, operates as a single company with their entire road car sector. So, their presentation is slightly different from teams that solely focus on Formula 1. We have Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Powertrains, Red Bull Advanced Technologies, and Red Bull Advanced Services. So, there are a series of companies that need to interact with each other. Nevertheless, we worked closely with the FIA. They did a very thorough job.” – he concluded.
Leave a Reply