F1 chief Stefano Domenicali calls for sporting penalties on Formula 1 cost cap violations

Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has expressed his belief that teams found guilty of breaking the cost cap should face sporting penalties rather than financial or technical sanctions.

In 2022, Red Bull incurred a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in wind-tunnel and CFD development time for exceeding the spending limit imposed on teams during the 2021 season.

The FIA, the governing body of F1, is currently examining the submissions and accounts from teams for the 2022 season. This process was expedited after the Red Bull controversy overshadowed the latter part of the previous season.

Several leading teams felt that the penalties imposed on Red Bull were relatively lenient. F1 chief Domenicali believes that adjustments are necessary in the event of any breaches.

The FIA has various sporting penalties at its disposal, including the deduction of championship points, exclusion from Grand Prix sessions, reprimands, or even a reduction in the following year's cost cap to offset overspending.

Domenicali supports the implementation of these measures. "I would like the penalty to have a sporting impact in the event of a violation; this is something we have clearly requested," he explained to Autosport.

"There are three regulations that must be respected: sporting, technical, and financial. Any infringements should be penalized using sporting measures. We cannot take any other approach."

Due to the intricacies of the financial regulations, significant manpower is required to analyse the submissions from all ten teams. The FIA will only announce any breaches once the entire process has been completed.

"The FIA has control over the process," Domenicali stated. "Personally, I have requested that the publication of the investigations conducted by the FIA staff be expedited as much as possible. This way, it avoids speculation and comments that are detrimental to everyone involved."

In 2021, Red Bull were the only team to exceed the spending limit, while Aston Martin and Williams were both found non-compliant due to procedural breaches but did not exceed the cap.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, July 23, as the Hungarian Grand Prix awaits at the Hungaroring.