The FIA have announced that all 10 Formula 1 teams have complied with the cost cap in 2022 – meaning no repeat of the shenanigans which overshadowed the latter stages of last season.
Red Bull were found guilty of an overspend of the 2021 budget cap, the same year in which Max Verstappen claimed his first drivers’ title.
Christian Horner’s team were fined £6m and docked 10 per cent of their car development time after a long, drawn-out process.
Yet this year, the FIA have confirmed that no teams have fallen foul of the financial regulations and detailed that their analysis included an “extensive check of any non-F1 activities... which comprised of multiple on-site visits to team facilities.”
The news will come as a relief to all teams, particularly in light of rising inflation and freight costs which led Horner to suggest earlier this year that as many as six teams could’ve broken the cost cap.
The statement in full reads: “The FIA confirms that its Cost Cap Administration has now completed the review of the Reporting Documentation submitted by each Competitor that participated in the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship in respect of the 2022 Full Year Reporting Period ending on 31 December 2022.
“The FIA Cost Cap Administration has issued certificates of compliance to all of the ten Competitors.
“The review has been an intensive and thorough process, beginning with a detailed analysis of the documentation submitted by the competitors.
“Additionally, there has been an extensive check of any non-F1 activities undertaken by the teams, which comprised multiple on-site visits to team facilities and careful auditing procedures to assess compliance with the Financial Regulations.
“The FIA Cost Cap Administration notes that all Competitors acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and cooperation throughout the process.
“The FIA also notes that the Financial Regulations are essential to the long-term financial stability of the sport, and that they will continue to be developed and refined based on the findings of each review process both in terms of the regulations themselves, which are written and approved under the FIA Formula 1 governance process, and the way in which they are enforced and policed.
“The FIA has made and will continue to make significant investments in this department for the collective benefit of the sport.”
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