None of the teams in Formula 1 will be fined for breaking the budget cap rules last season as only minor offenses were committed, it was announced on Wednesday.
As reported by Sky Sport, all teams that have adhered to the stipulated budget of 145 million dollars in 2021 should receive a certificate of compliance.
Budget constraints refer to the money teams spend on car development and performance. That particular budget does not actually address the biggest costs which include driver salaries, marketing, logistics, travel and legal expenses.
Sky Sport states that it was established that only minor violations of the budget were found, overruns of up to five percent, for which only minor fines were provided. Those more lenient penalties include the deduction of points for both drivers and constructors and suspension for one or more stages of the competition. Also, as an option for punishment there is a restriction on the team to conduct aerodynamic and other tests or to reduce the total costs in the future.
For major violations, one of the penalties is expulsion from the world championship.
Last week, Italian media reported that Red Bull made big budget overruns last season. Such claims were made by Mercedes director Toto Wolff, but Red Bull strongly denied all those claims. Wolff also added that all teams will be ready to commit minor offenses in the future because that means they can have an additional seven million euros at their disposal, and be only lightly fined for it.
