F1 teams are awaiting formal notification from the FIA on October 5 whether or not their accounts for the 2021 season are under spending limits.
Teams that the FIA is happy with will be issued certificates of compliance, while any outfits that have exceeded the limit will likely face penalties.
Although the FIA has officially confirmed the potential breach of the cost cap, the paddock anticipates that two teams may have breached the rules.
It is suggested that one of the teams committed a “minor” breach of the rules being less than 5% over the limit, while the other was much larger and a “material” breach.
Within the paddock, the focus has been on Aston Martin and Red Bull, with the latter’s situation particularly intriguing as they won the world championship title last year.
Speaking in Singapore on Friday, however, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said he was confident the team had played by the rules.
Asked by Sky F1 if he was aware of any possible cost cap breaches, Horner said: “I am certainly not aware of it.
“The accounts were all submitted in March. So it’s been a long process with the FIA, going through that, and we’re in that process as we speak.
“They are rightly following this process, and I think next week, the middle of next week is when they will declare the certificates. I think our bid was definitely below the cap. And it’s up to the FIA, obviously, to follow their process, which they are currently doing.”
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Although Horner has expressed confidence in his own team’s submission, formal approval of expenses and interpretations of expenses that fall and not fall under the cap can only be made by the FIA.
Horner admitted that as the governing body has deepened its forensic analysis of each team’s account, some new interpretations have emerged.
“This is the first time this has happened,” he said. “But we do our due diligence and we are still audited.
“It’s a similar process to working with an auditor, so it’s a bit bespoke for F1. And clarifications have come, even after submissions have been made.
“So you can see how immature the process is. But the FIA, obviously, worked hard on that and did their best.”
Horner said that with the cost cap rules still in their infancy, it was no surprise that issues arose during the audit process.
“Inevitably it’s a whole new set of rules and a very complicated set of rules, so how the rules are interpreted or applied, inevitably, is going to be subjective between teams,” he said. he explains.
“I’m sure that over the years things will get better. But we are confident in our submission.
“The FIA is in a process and I think there will always be rumours. I’ve heard of major infractions and the like, but I’m certainly not aware of that.
