Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, while not naming names, insists that any team that has exceeded the budget cap has not done so by accident but by design.

As expected, the FIA's failure to announce the results of its analysis of the teams' financial submissions means that once again the budget cap saga is overshadowing events on track.

Though he doesn't name names, Wolff is adamant that one team has exceeded the cap significantly and having been aware of the fact must face the consequences.

"This is not a moment in time where suddenly you discover breach or not," he said, according to Speedcafe.com. "The audits have been going on for a long time, every team has collaborated with the FIA, there's been discussions forward and backwards about how the interpretations go. So, it's over many months that you come to certain conclusions.

"The point is, you need to find out what the case is actually and we have no visibility of that," he continued. "Is it a so-called minor breach? I think the word is probably not correct, because if you're spending $5 million more, and you're still in the minor breach, it still has a big impact on the championship.

"To give you an idea: we obviously monitor closely which parts are being brought to the track from the top teams every single race... the '21 season, '22 season, and we can see that there is two teams, top teams, that are just about the same and there is another team that spends more.

"We know exactly that we're spending $3.5 million a year on parts that we bring to the car," he added. "And then you can see what difference it makes to spend another $500,000... it would be a big difference.

"We haven't produced lightweight parts for the car in order to bring us down from a double-digit over weight, because we simply haven't got the money, so we need to do it for next year's car. We can't homologate the lightweight chassis and bring it in because it's just $2 million that we would be over the cap.

"In terms of the penalties, there is a catalogue of penalties that the FIA needs to decide what's appropriate or whether this goes to the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel, which is the governance," said the Austrian. "We have no say in this. We shouldn't have an opinion on this either. We need to see what the outcome is and then one can comment.

"But again, all the stakeholders in the sport, all the teams that have complied to the regulations, the FIA, Formula 1, need to make sure that these regulations have teeth because of the aforementioned reasons, you can gain a real competitive advantage.

"All the teams were part of setting these regulations up, and all teams underwrote these regulations," he explained. "What it basically says is that we're all going to be audited. If you're in breach of the regulations you will not be issued a Certificate of Compliance, and then you can get into a settlement agreement with the FIA.

"That means the team needs to accept responsibility, needs to accept the fines that the FIA deems to be appropriate, then this is being made public, like we had the Williams case, for example, this is made public and very transparent. The whole process is very transparent.

"If it doesn't come to the settlement agreement, because either the team doesn't want to do it, or the FIA thinks it needs to go to the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel, then there is a group of judges, independent judges, that are going to look at the regulations and the case and come to a conclusion whether they should be penalised or not.

"If the team is not happy with the outcome, then you can still go to the ICA and appeal there," he added, referring to the International Court of Appeal.

"So it's a lengthy process, but I think super robust in terms of the governance.

"I have zero doubt that this is going to be handled in the right way and transparent - contrary to what we had in the past sometimes.

"Independent lawyers, maybe also judges, but people that have no involvement in Formula 1, people that have been brought forward as top in their league," adds the man who had a barrister on duty in Abu Dhabi... just in case.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Editor, 08/10/2022 13:07

"@ Spindoctor

Ah, Carry on Cleo, though my favourite was Carry on Screaming... indeed Oddbod and Oddbod Junior could well be Toto and Christian."

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 08/10/2022 13:01

"@Max Noble
Just so. Toto & Mercedes are engaged in industrial scale sh1t-stirring, but his efforts & the effluvia emanating from Horner\RBR make it clear this is what we can look forward to in F1 for the foreseeable future.
In my, admittedly jaundiced, view FIA are mainly culpable for implementing a Cost Cap which, as you have pointed-out at length, is unenforceable.

In keeping with our esteemed Editor's nostalgia trip Round the Horn; the same Kenneth Williams also uttered the unforgettable line which we might attribute to the spangly-attired Mr Horner:
"Infamy, infamy. They've all got in in for me""

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3. Posted by Max Noble, 08/10/2022 1:36

"@ZJAY - Given “The Amazing Lehman Brothers” is my third article on the complexities of applying a cost cap I feel “No one journalist took the time…” is rather a strong observation.

As to “What it is” the simple answer is a number of areas of endeavour are within the $145M US cost cap, while specific items are excluded including; top three exec salaries; driver salaries; marketing; travel; engines.

Engines are covered by their own (pre-existing) cost rules.

The issues, as the three PitPAss articles seek to highlight, are setting the boundary point at which you apply the measures, how your define each area, how government off-sets are treated, and how you verify the “true cost” of a component provided by a third party.

What Toto is doing is stirring the pot to place sound-bites into the minds of the FIA, and fans to confuse the situation, and create doubt before any announcement from Inspector Hound and the FIA bean counters has been made. He is not explaining the rules and how to apply them…
"

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4. Posted by ZJAY, 07/10/2022 14:33

"Tito said that in terms of penalty … should have no opinion.

If it was not because of him we would not even understand the process. No one journalist took the time to spell the process and potential penalties etc, as per regulation. So instead of making fun of Toto (I am not a fan by the way), we need to understand the process and regulations. "

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5. Posted by yakker, 07/10/2022 14:33

"The amount of flack Wolff and Hamilton are putting up leads me to think this is a diversion tactic."

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6. Posted by sharky, 07/10/2022 12:15

"There is only one penalty that will stop teams from cheating, that is to lose all points for both driver & constructor along with a 10% cut in their budget for the next year
Penalties need to be so harsh as to deter any driver or team from even attempting to cheat
Loss of all points both constructors & drivers championships for the season
It's a team sport so both should be penalised
Watching Horner & Verstappen throwing a tantrum would be hilarious

BTW: I don't follow Red Bull, Aston Martin, Ferrari or Mercedes or any of their drivers"

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7. Posted by Max Noble, 07/10/2022 11:48

"@Esteemed Editor - My good self, and the Southern PitPass Cats are rolling in the Cat Nip in jollity at that one! Long may Arch-Jester Horner’s tights sparkle in the Sun… :-)"

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8. Posted by Editor, 07/10/2022 11:27

"@ Max Noble

Well it's funny that you should ask...

The last press release we received from Red Bull was on 8 August and related to the team extending its technical support programme with Honda until 2025.

Prior to that, in May, Red Bull had changed its sender domain for press releases and advised us to update our address book accordingly, which we did.

Following the summer break, with no emails received we contacted Red Bull and they said they would sort things out. Nothing happened.

We wrote again and gave them an alternative email address. Again nothing happened.

Consequently we no longer receive Red Bull's press releases.

Concerned that the cost of updating their address book could impact their budget we opted not to make an issue of it."

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9. Posted by Max Noble, 07/10/2022 11:17

"@editor - reflecting on the developing situation to be honest we are hearing much from Toto, yet Prince Jester Horner is not so often quoted on these esteemed pages. Is he putting out much poetry these days?"

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10. Posted by Max Noble, 07/10/2022 9:56

"@Editor - ah! Nostalgia is not what it used to be! Thanks for the reference :-)"

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11. Posted by Editor, 07/10/2022 9:40

"@ Max Noble

There used to be a radio show here called Round the Horn, it featured the late Kenneth Williams.

In one sketch I will never forget, in reaction to something which had shocked him, he replied "I'm speechless!"

He then spends the next five minutes constantly telling all and sundry how speechless he is.

As a result, whenever I hear someone over protesting their case, that sketch always comes to mind."

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12. Posted by Max Noble, 07/10/2022 9:04

"@Editor - I’m crying! For someone with no opinion I’ve *never* had such a clear understanding of what Toto and Lewis’ opinions are on;
1. Must enforce cost cap
2. Must have massive penalties
3. Cannot be only financial penalties must be racing/championship penalties
4. Cannot be applied from the breach date only, must apply to all of pervious (breach) season, and all of next season
5. Must be utterly transparent
6. Must come down like fist of God on cost cap blasphemy for the entire sake of the sport
7. A “minor” breach does not exist they must all be considered massive
8. We only spend $25 a year on upgrades so imagine what RB can do with 5% of $145M!

…other than *that* utterly no opinion at all. None. AND not saying a word… (which is technically true as he has said thousands of them on this topic!)

"

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13. Posted by Editor, 07/10/2022 5:56

"@ Max Noble

And he has the cheek to say... "We have no say in this. We shouldn't have an opinion on this either."

For someone with no opinion..."

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14. Posted by Max Noble, 07/10/2022 5:53

"In the legal universe this would be labeled by the judge as “Leading the witness.” Good grief Toto! No one is confused as to where you stand on this one…! :-)"

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Budget cap rule breach is not the work of a moment, insists Wolff

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