Today is an important day for Formula 1. Over the next few hours, the conclusions of the analyzes regarding the financial documents presented by the teams relating to the 2021 expenditures will be published directly from the French offices of the FIA.
By now everyone knows the rumors from last weekend about the fact that there are two teams which have struggled with the so-called budget cap: Red Bull and Aston Martin. Today we will know if this is the case, and if so to what extent.
Budget cap case, live updates:
17:15 – The FIA just announced it will not confirm if all ten Formula 1 teams adhered to its 2021 budget cap until next week. The governing body of motorsport initially indicated it would reveal on Wednesday which teams would be certified as having complied with the $145 million spending limit which was introduced last year. Yet in a statement it confirmed no news will be communicated until after this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
“The FIA informs that the conclusion of the analysis of the 2021 financial submissions of the Formula 1 teams and the subsequent release of Certificates of Compliance to the Financial Regulations will not take place on Wednesday, 5th October. The analysis of financial submissions is a long and complex process that is ongoing and will be concluded to enable the release of the Certificates on Monday, 10th October.”
15:25 – Still silence regarding the budget cap on the FIA website (and social networks). Is something going on?
15:00 – At 9:50am UK, the FIA said it would provide an update “regarding timelines for the financial regulations compliance process in the next couple of hours”. There has since been no further update. But according to Sky Sports, no F1 team is set to face severe punishment for breaking the 2021 financial regulations.
14:00 – The two hours of waiting previously indicated by the FIA have long since passed. So, let’s expect updates very soon.
12:40 – Still no news from Paris, where the Cost Cap Administration is verifying whether in 2021 the F1 teams have respected the parameters set by the budget cap.
12:00 – Aston Martin team principal talks about the budget cap procedures and the accusations made also against the Silverstone team: “It’s a process where you give your submission, and then the FIA is analysing this, and comes back with questions. And this process is still going on. So we don’t really know what will be the result. There is a discussion going on. We have questions about interpretation, they have questions about interpretation. And we were surprised to read our name in this thing. So, let’s see. We don’t think that we have done anything majorly wrong. And from our point of view, it was good that we were not the only one mentioned, so you guys you concentrated on the other side of the paddock! It is unfortunate that these things come out like that, but it’s F1.”
10:55 – Sky Sport reports that the FIA should release some information within the next two hours.
10:25 – Tuttosport: “The plea bargain is looming”. Here is an excerpt from what can be read in today’s edition of the Italian newspaper Tuttosport: “… a certain calming air is looming. A small infringement could be detected, which will result in a small sanction: a sort of plea bargain. With the warning (direct and indirect to everyone) not to be smart from now on “.
10:15 – Sky Sport reports that the FIA may decide not to disclose the results of the analysis in the next few hours. “It is an eventuality” – the well-known television station informs.
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9:30 – Absolute silence in Paris. Meanwhile, the wait is growing for an official press release from the Federation confirming or denying the violations of the budget cap. A press release that should arrive later today. With regard to any sanctions, however, we will have to wait a long time for the final verdict. The procedure, in fact, requires the Cost Cap Administration to transmit its conclusions to the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel, a committee of judges (from 6 to 12) who can listen to the investigated teams and then decide the type of sanction to be imposed in the event of a confirmed guilt.
9:10 – According to today’s edition of the British media, Red Bull will emerge almost unscathed from the “budget cap case”. The Daily Mail, for example, claims that the Milton Keynes team has committed an infringement of about one million, much less than what other sources reported last weekend. Should the rumors from the British media turn out to be true, Horner and his team could get away with a fine.
Budget cap summary – Formula 1 introduced the so-called budget cap at the start of the 2021 season, setting the maximum spending limit for teams throughout the championship at $ 145 million. In 2022 the threshold was lowered to 140 million and F1 has planned to lower it by a further 5 million in 2023. However, in recent months, it was decided to raise the spending limit by 3.1%, in order to take into account the inflation on transport costs that the teams have been forced to bear.
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