06/10/2022
NEWS STORY
Citing a "long and complex process" the FIA will not now release details of its analysis of the teams' financial submissions until Monday 10 October.
As the sport held its breath, with the outcome of the 2021 world championship seemingly at stake, the FIA has once again scored a spectacular own goal.
Days after it was claimed that Red Bull and Aston Martin had exceeded the budget cap leading to fears that the result of its investigation could turn the sport on its head, the sport's governing body has admitted that it needs more time to analyse the data.
“The analysis of financial submissions is a long and complex process that is ongoing and will be concluded to enable the release of the Certificates on Monday, 10 October," it said in a brief statement.
With Red Bull having submitted its financial submission in March one wonders why the FIA needs another 5 days to finalise its findings.
The FIA's fill statement reads as follows:
"The FIA informs that the conclusion of the analysis of the 2021 financial submissions of the Formula 1 teams and the subsequent release of Certificates of Compliance to the Financial Regulations will not take place on Wednesday, 5 October. The analysis of financial submissions is a long and complex process that is ongoing and will be concluded to enable the release of the Certificates on Monday, 10 October.
"The Financial Regulations were agreed unanimously by all Competitors, who have worked positively and collaboratively with the FIA Cost Cap Administration throughout this first year under the Financial Regulations.
"As previously communicated, there has been significant and unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture in relation to this matter, and the FIA reiterates that until it is finalised, no further information will be provided. The FIA also reiterates that any suggestion that FIA personnel have disclosed sensitive information is equally baseless."
The delay will do nothing to assuage the feelings of those who have lost faith in the FIA, with many having doubted its ability to police the budget cap in the first place.
Time and time again this season we have seen the FIA drag its heels and only last Sunday it took almost three hours to confirm that Sergio Perez' race win stood... then again, when the 2021 world championship titles could yet be turned on their heads...
Despite fans frustration, and the obvious mud-slinging that will continue this weekend, at least we can draw comfort from the fact that it will make a great cliff-hanger for at least one episode of Drive to Survive.
In a sport still recovering from the shambles that was Abu Dhabi, and a governing body already tarnished by the "agreement" with Ferrari following the investigation into its 2019 engine, this does nothing to restore faith. Indeed, it only adds to the feeling that there is something rotten at the very heart of the sport.