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F1's governing body is in the news again, and this time around the latest controversy is the cost cap breach by Red Bull for the 2021 season. The fact that the cost cap report was issued in October of the following year should be alarming.
The lack of clarity over what the punishment would be has left fans furious. Meanwhile, it has given teams like Mercedes and Ferrari an opportunity to openly lobby against Red Bull.
In isolation, the way the entire cost cap situation is being handled is questionable in itself. When you compound it with the criticism-inviting chain of events against the FIA, it brings forth a bigger concern.
Has the sport's governing body started to become a liability? Is the FIA's questionable handling starting to tarnish F1's global image? To answer that, first of all, let's take a look at the course of events that has led us to this point.
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The disastrous end of the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP and mismanaged aftermath
To jog everyone's memory, in the last race of the 2021 F1 season, race director Michael Masi gave priority to not letting the race finish under the safety car.
To make that happen, on the penultimate lap of the race (and the season), the safety car was brought in. The lapped cars between the two lead cars were cleared and the race was restarted. The restart turned the championship on its head as Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton and became the champion.
The way things were handled was questionable to say the least, and there was an uproar from fans and Mercedes alike. FIA's course of action involved removing Michael Masi from the post of race director. At the same time, two personnel were put in place as race directors to replace the departed Australian.
In the eyes of many, Masi getting replaced by two personnel should have been an indication that the Australian was overburdened. Instead of pushing him out, that needed to be addressed. However, the entire situation was put down to a 'human error' and left at that. The course of action overall wasn't satisfactory and felt more like an effort to sweep things under the carpet.
The Jewelry Gate
One of the more confusing battles this season has been the FIA's enforcement of an old directive that had not been enforced since 2006. From the 2022 F1 Australian GP onwards, it was mandatory to wear homologated FIA balaclavas, gloves, and other accessories.
At the same time, wearing any kind of jewelry while driving was outlawed. When the directive was enforced, it faced stern opposition from Lewis Hamilton and other drivers like Sebastian Vettel.
After multiple exemptions, Hamilton got rid of the jewelry. However, the amount of energy spent on something like this in the media was almost excessive when there are bigger issues that could have been attended to.
The mismanaged F1 wet weather races
For an F1 fan, one of the more sought-after races were the ones where rain disrupted things. Wet races are unpredictable and tend to level the playing field by testing driver intangibles.
This season, however, the wet race is almost looked at with a certain sense of trepidation. The reason behind it has been the rather conservative way in which the races are being handled by the stewards. The F1 Monaco GP this season had a delayed start due to a passing shower.
Similarly, the race in Singapore was delayed by a ridiculous full hour even after the rain had stopped. We then moved to Japan where the FIA went the other way and let the teams start in torrential conditions on intermediate tires. To make things worse, in what was an error of astronomical proportions, a recovery truck was on the track while the cars were still circulating.
There seems to be a lack of understanding and clarity with which an F1 race needs to be managed. Additionally, the FIA race director's tendency to err on the side of safety has been a source of criticism from fans every time there is a weather disruption.
The entire cost-cap saga
The latest and arguably the biggest litmus test for the FIA is the entire cost-cap saga that began at the 2022 F1 Singapore GP. The evaluation process for the 2021 season budget cap has revealed that Red Bull has committed a minor budget breach for the 2021 F1 season. The penalty for the minor budget breach is expected to range from a reprimand to a sporting penalty where championship points can be deducted.
The very fact that the FIA has a penalty range as vast as this should be questioned because it is the feeding ground of subjectivity. To add to this, it was a breach by the team that won the driver's championship in 2021.
Having said that, the FIA is still not being completely transparent. A minor breach is a maximum of 5% overspend. This could range from something as low as $1 to $7.25 million.
With the FIA not publishing how much the breach was, fans were once again left in the dark. Even before the decision comes, it has left the FIA in a lose-lose situation irrespective of how it takes the next step.
Conclusion
The FIA's history as the governing body of F1 has not been one without dubious backroom dealings. The most recent one was before the 2020 F1 season when the Ferrari power unit saw extensive changes and all of a sudden dropped to the back of the grid.
Despite the leadership changing from Jean Todt to Mohammad Ben Sulayem this season, there is no doubt that most of the operations of the FIA have carried on as usual.
