Two Formula 1 engine suppliers committed “procedural breaches” of the new financial regulations governing power units, the FIA has announced.
However the sport’s governing body confirmed none of F1’s four engine manufacturers or 10 teams exceeded the maximum spending limit last year.The FIA’s Cost Cap Administration confirmed Honda, whose engines were used by Red Bull and AlphaTauri (now RB) last year, and Alpine, whose engines are provided by Renault, “have both been found to be in procedural breach [but] neither has exceeded the cost cap level.” Last year’s engine cost cap limit was $136.8 million (£104.5m).
While the cost cap for teams is now in its third year, the financial regulations for engine suppliers only came into force last year. The CCA took this into account when assessing the manufacturers’ compliance with the rules.
“Considering the nature of the breach, the complexities of the new financial regulations for PU manufacturers and the challenges associated with their first year of implementation it is the CCA’s intention to propose to these two PU manufacturers to settle their respective breaches by means of an Accepted Breach Agreement,” it said.
The CCA also noted “all F1 Teams and all PU Manufacturers acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and co-operation throughout the process” which took five months to complete.
Honda officially withdrew from F1 as an engine manufacturer at the end of 2021. However as F1’s engine specifications were frozen at the beginning of 2022, Red Bull’s two teams continued to use Honda’s engines, which are now branded as Honda RBPT. Honda will return to F1 as Aston Martin’s power unit supplier in 2026.
All 10 teams also complied with the cost cap in 2022, however three teams were found in breach when those rules were first introduced in 2021. Williams submitted its documents too late, Aston Martin committed a “procedural” breach – for which it was fined £388,000 – and Red Bull over-spent by £1.86m.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Formula 1
- Toyota not planning F1 team or power unit after return with Haas
- Why Haas expects its Toyota deal will ‘move us towards the front of the grid’
- ‘Don’t call it a return’: Why Toyota want no comparisons with their first F1 adventure
- Toyota returns to Formula 1 in new technical collaboration with Haas
- Lawson tests in Red Bull while McLaren run Pirelli’s smaller 2026 tyres
Biggsy
11th September 2024, 10:44
So what does that mean?
They’ve breached it or not?
Avro Anson (@avroanson)
11th September 2024, 11:04
Probably some screw up in the paperwork, but not involving over-spending.
anon
11th September 2024, 13:19
We don’t know what exactly they have done, since the FIA didn’t say what the fault was.
However, as noted above, they tend to use that to refer to a team making a minor error in their accounts or submitted information later than they should have. It’s probably a case where the FIA either disagreed with some of their costs, but they still came under budget anyway, or the parties involved submitted information after some of the interim deadlines.
Ben
11th September 2024, 11:39
of course they did. Rules don’t apply to a certain team.
If it’s not stewards ignoring blatantly dangerous driving or race control ignoring the literal rule book its overspending here, illegal brakes there or overspending over here again.
Every championship after 2020 is completely tainted. So sad for the teams which fairly put in the hard work.
Manto
11th September 2024, 12:06
Can we talk for a second about Barcellona 2013 secret test, Fric, das, 2018 illegal rims, 2017 oil in engine, or these things do not Taint a championship because were made by Merc and not RB?
Craig
11th September 2024, 12:51
There’s quite a considerable difference between exploiting loop holes and breaking rules, one that people tend to willfully ignore when making this sort of argument.
Nick T.
12th September 2024, 1:53
Yeah, “loopholes.” And said by the same people accusing RBR being guilty of exploiting a brake loophole there’s no evidence they did.
anon
11th September 2024, 13:10
Most of those things were legal – for example, Tyrrell and Minardi were using interlinked hydraulic suspension systems in the early 1990’s, and other teams were experimenting with similar systems in the 2000’s.
Similarly, Mercedes was far from unique in using such systems at the time – the Lotus team were using it (why do you think Kimi was so competitive when he was at Lotus?). Are they cheats and Kimi a fraud for using that system?
The problem wasn’t with the system, but that Ferrari couldn’t get their attempts to replicate it to work properly and so lobbied to get it banned instead.
MacLeod (@macleod)
11th September 2024, 14:10
Oil using in powerboost in the engines was certain illegal only the das system was clever found.,,,, the rest not so.
SteveP
11th September 2024, 21:55
Became illegal, and I think only Ferrari designed in a larger oil reservoir.
Ferrari, cheat on engine regs? surely not…
“Found”? The FIA were consulted before Merc made a single part. The only reason it was ruled out for the following season was that other teams agreed they would have to spend big money trying to replicate it, and they still might fail.
Nick T.
12th September 2024, 1:51
One can always count on Ben the bell end for a good hot take.
Coventry Climax
11th September 2024, 17:00
So it now takes a full five months for the FiA to check whether all participants stuck to the rules.
Something’s really, pathetically amiss here.
If it’s a show, who cares?
If it’s a sport, surely it should be operated by a thinner, simpler and most of all faster to check rulebook?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
11th September 2024, 19:23
When they checked the budget cap compliance, it took waaaaaay more than 5 months.
SteveP
11th September 2024, 21:47
After a fashion. I think the checks were done fairly swiftly, but there were long delays while Red Bull argued about how much a sandwich cost.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
11th September 2024, 23:23
Some of the participants care, on the grounds that they couldn’t get the budget to enter at all without the budget cap at least having the illusion of being there.
Having enough teams for F1 to run matters if F1 matters at all (as sport, show or anything else).
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
11th September 2024, 19:23
I have to say that red bull seems to make these kind of mistakes often!
PaulT (@pault)
11th September 2024, 22:10
But it’s not Red Bull that committed the procedural breach, it’s Honda, their supplier.
MadMax (@madmax)
12th September 2024, 18:37
RBPT you mean…
AlexS
12th September 2024, 19:10
It is sad that F1 now has so much bureaucracy and many more people. That cost of that must be staggering.
Then they go on about “malevolent” CO2…already being replaced in the narrative by “emissions”. Like global warming was replaced by climate change…