Two eminent F1 teams might have exceeded budget cap last season: Reports

In a report by La Gazetta Dello Sport and Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS), which has the potential to light the F1 world on fire, it was stated that two teams are rumored to have exceeded the budget cap for the 2021 season. According to these reports, the two teams potentially involved in this transgression are Red Bull and Aston Martin.

According to one of the latest reports issued by AMuS, the cost cap review for the 2021 season was completed and two teams are rumored to be over the budget cap. The report said:

“The paddock radio reports that in the first year of the cost cap, two teams exceeded the limit of $148.6 million. One of them on a large scale. In the paddock, there are rumors that it should be Red Bull and Aston Martin. The FIA is in a bind. It is obliged to make any transgressions public. Exceeding the budget cap is a breach of the rules, like an underweight car or too much gas flow.”

The problem that the FIA faces in this situation is the lack of precedence in this case. According to regulations, a violation of up to $5 million is considered a minor rule violation and the perpetrator gets away with a fine. The report said:

“Now comes the problem. There is no clearly defined catalog of penalties. The FIA did not want cross-border commuters to offset the damage against the benefit and deliberately exceed the limit as long as the penalty is bearable. According to the regulations, violations of up to five million dollars are considered a ‘minor rule violation’. The perpetrator may get away with a fine.”

Speaking about the magnitude of the impact the breach could have, an extra $5 million of development could be worth around half a second on the race track for teams like Ferrari and Mercedes. The report says:

“At Mercedes and Ferrari, it is said that an extra five million dollars in development can be worth up to half a second on the race track. Anyone who is over the five million must expect harsher penalties. Possibly a point deduction and a subsequent downgrading in the world championship. Or you can deduct the amount that was exceeded from the cost cap for the affected team the following year.”

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Ferrari's anger at Red Bull's F1 budget cap transgression

Ferrari is reportedly angry at this because the budget cap transgression goes beyond the 2021 F1 season. The team could have used the extra money to develop its 2022 F1 challenger as well. The report said:

“Ferrari is angry at the hypothesis that Red Bull should have bent the rules too much for another reason. Under this assumption, the additional money not only flowed into the 2021 F1 car, but also into the development of the 2022 model. Which would explain why Red Bull had such a strong start to the season despite allegedly being the last team to switch. So anyone who breaks the budget would have a double win. In the current fiscal year and thereafter.”

According to the report, there are even questions over Red Bull's expenses this F1 season as the competition believes Red Bull is well over the limit. The report said:

“Red Bull’s competition also claims to have calculated that the upgrades to the current Red Bull RB18 could not possibly be produced within the allowed budget. You yourself are close to the limit. According to their own calculations, Red Bull must be well above it.”

It's funny to see that in an F1 season that was heading towards a rather dull end, something this big has shaken everything. Although to be fair, these are only rumors at the moment and nothing official has been communicated as of now.