Team bosses react to growing rumours of F1 cost cap breaches
F1 team principals quizzed about cost cap breach speculation.
F1 team principals have given their reaction to rumours of alleged cost cap breaches for the 2024 season.
Aston Martin admitted to committing a minor procedural breach of F1’s cost cap regulations, while there is mounting speculation in the paddock that another team could have fallen foul of a more ‘substantial’ offence.
The rumours have been fuelled by the delays to F1’s governing body publishing the results of its findings for the 2024 season. The last time things got delayed beyond September was in 2022, when Red Bull were found to have broken the rules.
Rival team principals were quick to exert caution when asked about the speculation.
“I think the delay in announcing made it very clear to all of us that there were some teams in trouble, or a team in trouble perhaps,” Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley said on Friday.
“I can speak from experience, it’s a very, very difficult thing to balance. You want to be competitive, you can imagine you want to spend every last dollar up against your cost cap limit. Of course you do, that’s what we’re in the business of doing.
“We’re in racing, we’re in a competitive sport. I think the first thing I would say is that nobody’s doing it intentionally. These things happen sometimes, things can just come out of control a little bit, like a car crash, something like that, and I don’t expect to cost late on.
“I don’t want to speculate on the cause of it. I think we now understand why we were late in getting the publication from the FIA.”
Ferrari downplay delay
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur downplayed the significance of the unusual delay.
“I think it’s not a big deal to have the decision on September or October at the end of the day,” he stressed.
“On this we have to trust the FIA, that they are doing their job, and I think it’s not an easy one, honestly.
“But we also have to avoid to make any speculation on rumours, and so that it would be a mistake. And the last part of the equation is something in the procedural breach.
“I think this can happen to everybody, and it’s not a sporting advantage.
“We have to split what is a sporting advantage with a sporting penalty, and a technical advantage or technical mistake, let’s say, with the FIA.”
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu added: “I think that nobody does it intentionally, and all these things, we’ve got to trust the process, and then wait for the outcome.”
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