F1 budget cap: ‘Minor’ breaches made but all teams to avoid severe punishments for 2021 limits

Toto Wolff claimed Red Bull were being investigated for potentially breaching the spending cap rules of $145m during the 2021 season; Sky Sports News understands only ‘minor’ breaches were made by any constructor, which would carry less severe penalties

No Formula 1 team is set to face severe punishment for breaking budget cap regulations last season after only « minor » breaches were made, Sky Sports News understands.

Every F1 team that complied with the 2021 budget cap regulations – set at $145m – is expected to receive a certificate of compliance on Wednesday.

The budget cap applied to money spent on car developments and performance, but not to some big-ticket items, such as drivers’ salaries, marketing costs, logistics, travel and legal costs.

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that their submission of the budget cap for last season was the below the FIA’s cap.

Sky Sports News understands only « minor » breaches of the cap have been made, which is an overspend of less than five per cent and would carry less severe penalties.

Possible sanctions include the deduction of constructors’ and drivers’ championship points and a suspension from one or more stages of a competition. Limitations on the team’s ability to conduct aerodynamic or other testing, or a reduction in their overall cost cap going forward are also options.

Had a team committed a major breach, then being removed from the world championship was a potential punishment.

Did Red Bull break the budget cap?

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Allegations of Red Bull breaking the F1 cost cap continue, but is there any truth in them and could they really cost Max Verstappen his 2021 title?

Italian media reports last week suggested Red Bull might have overspent last season – a claim Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described as « an open secret », but one that Red Bull have angrily dismissed as « fictitious ».

Wolff claimed that minor breaches could allow teams to spend an extra £7m – and that if the penalties are light, then all teams would be willing to break the rules in future.

He says the benefits of overspending in one year would potentially boost teams in future years, and so it would be worth pushing the rules to the limit.