Rumors and suspicions
The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend goes on amidst the unknown factor of bad weather, curiosity about the new qualifying format and the possibility that Red Bull will equal the 1988 McLaren with an 11th consecutive win since the beginning of the season. But the topic that, in a creeping way, continues to insert itself into all the discussions within the paddock is that of the budget cap. In fact, the verdicts on the 2022 season will arrive in the coming weeks and – recalling what happened last year at Red Bull and, to a lesser extent, Aston Martin – several teams are starting to tremble. At the moment there is little concrete except the voice, which emerged from various parts of the paddock, that some teams have already received the OK from the FIA.
Domenicali’s request
The majority of teams would therefore have complied with the spending cap set at $141.2 million for the past championship. Some teams would instead be in the sights of the FIA, which, however, it has officially denied. The federation would have asked these teams further supplementary investigations. Last year Aston Martin – guilty of only one procedural infraction – got away with a small fine. Red Bull instead suffered the reduction of 10% of the usable time in the wind tunnel and a fine of 7 million dollars. A punishment, however, judged too little afflictive by the other teams. It is no coincidence that the boss of F1, Stefano Domenicali, has invoked by the FIA sporting penalties, which affect the actual result of the championship. According to him, this would be the only deterrent to future infringements.
Alpine and Aston Martin in the sights
But which teams would end up under the magnifying glass? In this case the rumors circulating tend to differ from country to country. However, two stables seem to be indicated by many as potential suspects: Alpine and Aston Martin. As reported by the Sports Courier there would be one third team in the sights of the federation which could be – but the conditional is a must – one between Red Bull and Mercedes. The Anglo-Saxon press believes the Brackley stable is more at risk, while the German press foresees a possible additional investigation into the reigning champion stable. For Red Bull, in particular, the risk is double. In fact, the federation could punish – if necessary – recidivism.
Variety of penalties
For sanctions, including sporting ones, the spectrum is infinite. You can go from reprimand to exclusion from the championship. Much will also depend on the type of possible infringement and – if so – on the entity. The figure to keep in mind is that of $7.06 million. Below this threshold, it would in any case be a Minor Breach. Above, however, the infringement would be a Material Breach, which would obviously lead to a more severe sanction. To give an idea, the violation of Red Bull, in 2021, was 1.6%. It should also be specified that any penalty in terms of points would affect last season’s resultsnot the one currently in progress.
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