Other team principals agreed that such breaches should trigger appropriate sanctions from the FIA.
Both Red Bull and Aston Martin are said to have overspent last season, with the former seen as a potentially more serious case of ‘material breach’.
The penalty for such an expenditure – above 5% of the 2021 cap limit – could go as far as the exclusion of the team concerned from last year’s world championship.
Capito pointed out that a breach in 2021 would also have fueled the development of cars this season.
“I think there’s no way not to stay within the cost cap,” the German told Autosport.
“And if someone breaches the cost cap, there must be serious consequences. Because not staying within the cost cap last year is most likely a development for this year’s car.
“For this year’s cars, you have an impact on the whole season. So it must have a sporting impact on this season. It makes no sense to have a financial penalty on top of the fact that you spent money.
“It would be completely contradictory to follow the rules. And to me that’s a more serious offense than cheating the car on the track.
Capito also stressed that a retrospective sanction, for example exclusion from last year’s championship, would not necessarily affect the performance gains achieved through development for 2022.
“I don’t think it should be for last year, because most of the impact is on this year. I think it would be completely wrong to do it last year, because the books are written, everything is done, PR is done, marketing is done.
“So if that were the case, I don’t think anyone would stay in the cost cap anymore, because it has an impact on the past. This must have an impact on the actual year. And that’s why I think the FIA, if there is a case, has to be pretty quick.
“I have no other choice, they have to react because the majority of the teams were within the cost cap. And they can’t be penalized for being within the cost cap. So I’m pretty sure they’ll react appropriately.
Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vasseur insists any financial transgression should be treated as seriously as a technical infraction.
“I think, from my point of view, the cost cap was crucial for F1,” Vasseur said.
“I know it was a great achievement to put it in place. But now that it is in place, the most important thing is to control it. And of course, there is no room for flexibility.
“I think we have to be very strict with that. You can be disqualified from a race for 0.9mm of front flap deflection, like we were two years ago. If you are 300g under the weight, you are excluded.
“And, on the other hand, if you can spend millions on updates for X races, that’s completely unfair. If something like that happened, the FIA will definitely have to act.
“You have to understand that sometimes with €200,000 you can make a big upgrade. And if you go over budget because of that, it’s a few tenths for more than one race.
Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, who led Aston Martin last year but left before their final budget was submitted, agreed teams that overspend can reap significant benefits.
Alpine boss Szafnauer thinks teams should be ‘appropriately’ punished
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
“At the margin, any spending above the margin is on performance,” Szafnauer added. “And once you start spending on performances where others don’t get the chance to, because they’ve actually hit the budget cap, that’s serious.
“And I think the FIA needs to appropriately punish those who overtake. First you need to understand the extent of the offense and then what is the appropriate sanction.
Szafnauer pointed out that Alpine had made big sacrifices to stay in the cap.
“The team here made some big decisions about leaving people, not hiring other people, before the start of this year, based on last year’s spending,” he said. he declares.
“And that is significant. And, once you let people go, it’s hard to get them back and attract the same people.
“And once you stop development, because you’re going to go over the budget cap, and stop it to make sure you’re under it, get that development and relearn faster than other people learn, that’s is almost impossible.
“So that’s what I mean by we have to understand the seriousness of the breach and have the appropriate ramifications.
“If, for example, you won by doing more wind tunnel testing, then maybe you should have an appropriate punishment, like restricting their wind tunnel testing the following year. It’s that kind of thing.
Haas boss Gunther Steiner also insisted the penalties must be severe, even though the 2021 World Championship ended more than nine months ago.
“When we had to hand in our accounting, that was one of the things we discussed,” Steiner told Autosport. “So how do you deal with it, if someone raped it, a year later?
“It was always going to happen. But in the end, if you now take away last year’s world championship result, who cares?
“The only thing will be the financial advantage they had by being in a certain position. If they are disqualified, everyone behind them will laugh. And that’s where we are.
“I mean, if you break that, and the rules say the penalty has to be this, it has to be this, because in the end, we’re talking about money.”
