Red Bull has indeed exceeded the authorized budget in Formula 1 in 2021, with Aston Martin and Williams also being targeted
The FIA has finally released its analysis on the expenditures of the 2021 teams, and as the rumors suggested, Aston Martin and Red Bull are indeed involved, but Williams is as well. However, only the Red Bull team has exceeded the budget. Therefore, the FIA should penalize them, but no sanction has been determined yet.
The FIA was supposed to submit its certifications regarding the analysis of each team’s expenses for the 2021 season last week. But ultimately, after the budget commission meeting, the report and certifications were only unveiled this Monday, suspecting budget overruns for certain teams.
Red Bull has spent too much in 2021.
The budget for the 2021 Formula 1 season was $146.2 million, with 21 races on the schedule. However, the report issued by the FIA states that only 9 teams are within the budget, explaining that Red Bull has exceeded the budget by a range of 0.01% to 5% (minor applicable sanctions).
The FIA regulations provide for several different sanctions depending on the severity of exceeding the budget cap and the reasons behind it. If, after analyzing the breakdown of expenses, an unexpected issue has significantly impacted the budget, the commission will be more lenient than if it is a lack of willingness to comply with the budget.
The FIA takes time to determine appropriate sanctions.
The FIA statement states: « The FIA budget cap commission will now determine the appropriate measures to be taken by discussing with Aston Martin and Red Bull. Further information will be communicated later.
The FIA will thus undoubtedly organize a meeting with all the teams to better understand the impact that Red Bull and Aston Martin’s budget overruns may have had on the teams’ performance in 2021, and notably the impact on Max Verstappen’s title. The FIA will be able to decide on the most fair sanctions accordingly.
Williams scolded for being late.
The Williams team is also being issued a warning as the accounts were not submitted to the FIA on time. However, no sanctions will be given to the Grove team.
Aston Martin targeted by a legal procedure
Aston Martin, on the other hand, has indeed followed the 2021 budget but is facing a so-called “procedural” issue. This can take various forms, especially related to a lack of cooperation or submission of certain documents requested by the commission. No further details were added in the statement.
