21/10/2022
NEWS STORY
Speaking for the first time since the FIA confirmed that Red Bull breached the budget cap, Lewis Hamilton has warned the sport's governing body that the punishment must be severe.
Indeed, stopping short of saying 'justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done', the seven-time world champion admitted that if the correct signal is to be sent out the FIA must do a little more than slap the Austrian team on the wrist.
"I do think the sport needs to do something about this," he told reporters. "Otherwise, if it's quite relaxed, if they're relaxed with these rules, then all the teams will just go over.
"Spending millions more and then only having a slap on the wrist is obviously not going to be great for the sport," he added. "They might as well not have a cost cap for the future."
Calling on FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem, to "make the right decisions", Hamilton said: "I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, naturally. Otherwise, I'm just focused on doing the best job I can. What they have done, it's done."
Calling for transparency from the sport's governing body he warned that F1 must be "true to the values of the sport and the regulations that were put there to be policed".
"I think it can be a confusing time for fans," he said. "Without the fans, the sport is nothing. So yeah. I think we've just got to hold on to those values."
However, it is understood that the Accepted Breach Agreement given to Red Bull by the FIA specifically limits the sort of punishment that can be meted out, certainly in terms of points deduction, exclusion from events or even limiting Red Bull's budget in future seasons and is more likely to result in a fine.
The Austrian team is due to issue an official statement later today (Friday).