Today the FIA finally revealed which teams were in compliance with the Formula One budget cap for 2021 and which were not. Aston Martin are guilty if a ‘procedural breach’ while Red Bull Racing are the only team cited as breaching the spending limit. 

The FIA cited the Red bull breach as a ‘minor overspend’ though this could be as much as $7.2m which is 5% of the spending limit of $145m that was set.

 

 

Brundle claims regulations “crazy”

Brundle told Any Driven Monday, “What seems absolutely crazy to me is that a minor breach can be up to 5% overspend on the cost cap. That’s $7m. 

“We know that’s a massive upgrade on a car, or even a B-Spec [car] for some teams.

So that needs tightening up for starters because what’s the point in having $140m or whatever the number ends up being  and then having this 5% variance.

“So I’m assuming that the FIA will have to crack down hard on any minor breaches

 

 

Range of FIA penalties too broad

Yet the range of penalties for a minor breach varies significantly. It appears the FIA left the range of minor breach overspend too high and the variance too great. This will make it difficult to decide which of the variety of punishments should be applied as Brundle observes.

“it looks like it could be a reprimand or a fine. Will they [the FIA] want to revisit points? Will it be manufacturers points or drivers points for 2021.”

This is unlikely as consistent minor breaches year on year would require the rule F1 history books to be rewritten consistently and this would make a mockery of the sport.

 

 

Red Bull overspend impacts following years

Of course as Brundle indicates the over spend in 2021 does not just affect that seasons performance by the Red Bull car.

“Other teams are saying ‘look this gives you a head start for 2022, the cars are carried over for 2023, so this is a big advantage’”

Part of the problem is that the FIA originally scheduled “compliance day” for June, which would then give them the opportunity to take immediate action and inflict penalties on a team in breach for the season following their cot cap busting.

 

 

Points to be docked the following season

Gary Anderson suggests how the FIA could manage this better.

“An overspend of say $6m in 2021 means you remove the points from the team and drivers for the last five races ($1.2m per race) of 2022, with the cost cap for that team in 2022 also reduced by $6million so a cost cap for that team of $134m this year. 

“Any overspend in 2022 then gets taken away from the cost cap for 2023.”

“That way, it doesn’t affect the past but it will change the current season and dramatically impact the next, so it becomes more of a forward problem – which gives them an opportunity to do something about it rather than a past problem for the team committing the offence.”

With just 4 races left in the 2022 season and the FIA process will now require several weeks to agree the Red Bull penalty, this would be impossible in 2022.

 

 

FIA finding its way on cost cap regs

However, were the FIA to complete their audits in the time they committed to in following years, Anderson’s solution bears merit.

The problem for the FIA is that each team operates differently and as Brundle admits, “We know that pretty much all the teams are gaming this system within their interpretation of the regulations to varying degrees.”

“Christian Horner told me its an interpretation issue on a number of items. They [Red Bull] thought they were under. Some things have been included now [which weren’t in Red Bull’s submission].”

Bundle appears to contradict himself next when he suggests a minor cost cap breach is similar to other sporting of technical breaches where F1 teams regularly transgress

“I think it’s a bit like a double diffuser or a floppy front wing. People game that system aswell. Its Formula One for you.

“Its amount reading the regulations once to see what they say and twice to see how to get around them terms of beating the other 9 rivals in the same piece of paddock and pit lane as all the other races through the year.

 

 

Cost Cap still stopped teams spending 100’s of millions

However Martin Brundle believes the cost cap system has delivered on its original purpose.

“I think the concept of it was originally to stop the teams spending 2, 3 or $400m. That’s been achieved but now we’ve got to look at the last few million to make it fair.

“It’s also about keeping the pack closer on the grid, the have’s and have nots as it were in terms of sponsorship and the resource, the facilities they have available to them.

“So I think fundamentally it’s been a success, but it’s just the detail now and its got to be made clear that you stick to the cost cap or just under it otherwise it’s going to hurt.

 

 

Where was the FIA information leak?

Brundle also questions how the information revealed today was broadly available 10 days ago in the Singapore paddock.

“Its quite amazing that this information got out over the Singapore GP weekend. Where did it come from?”

“But it does seem that Red Bull have crept over the limit. We’re hearing numbers of £1.8m but unfortunately we’re not [officially] being told that today we’ll have to wait and see.”

The $1.8m figure is again an official amount sourced from where? Nobody knows. It’s similar to the AmuS story in Singapore claiming Red Bull were a massive $10m above the spending limit.

Mere speculation.

 

 

No great crime committed

“It appears it’s not the great crime we were being told by other team principals in Singapore, so we now await the news [on the details],’ Brundle concurs.

Given the FIA have admitted they are finding their way with how things should be categorised it would appear they will not come down hard on Red Bull Racing. 

 

 

 

The complexity of the audit job has clearly surprised the FIA as Brundle observes.

“Its very hard to come up with a set of regulations that can cope with a team like Haas for example that doesn’t have a factory and then Ferrari with its own road car manufacturing. 

“Also Red Bull with its Red Bull Technology and all the different elements these teams have. The different structures they have too and Red Bull on an industrial estate in Milton Keynes.

“So something that equalises all these different 10 teams in Formula One is very hard to do.

It’s obviously very complex.”

 

 

Regulations are difficult to formulate

The cost cap system is brilliant. Its been a corner stone as to why Formula one is in a better place today than in my view it ever has been.

“Its very hard to come up with a set of regulations that can cope with a team like Haas for example that doesn’t have a factory and then Ferrari with its own road car manufacturing. 

“Also Red Bull with its Red Bull technology and all the different elements these teams have. The different structures they have too and Red Bull on an industrial estate in Milton Keynes.

“So something that equalises all these different 10 teams in Formula One is very hard to do.

“It’s obviously very complex.”

 

 

FIA audit process needs to be slicker

Martin Brundle concludes its very disappointing that the matter of the breach and the subsequent penalties has not been put to bed all in one announcement. However the FIA process never stated this would be the case.

Red ull Racing will not sit down with the FIA and agree a “settlement” which includes a penalty, or the matter will go to the arbitration panel and then on to the FIA court of appeal if necessary.

READ MORE: Wolff suggests court action over cost cap decision

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