SUZUKA, Japan — Lewis Hamilton says it is “imperative” that any Formula One team found in breach of last year’s budget cap faces severe consequences as the FIA finalises its audit process of team accounts.
The sport’s governing body was due to announce its findings on Wednesday but has now delayed the issuing of compliance certificates until October 10 due to the “ongoing analysis” of the team’s financial submissions, which were made in March.
In the build up to last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, rumours circulated that Red Bull and Aston Martin may have breached the $145 million budget cap last year, although the FIA has since referred to rumours around its audit process as “unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture”.
Teams that met the cost cap will receive certificates of compliance on Monday while any team that overspent will enter a process to determine a sanction, which could range from a financial penalty for a procedural breach to exclusion or suspension from the world championship in the most extreme cases.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat Hamilton to last year’s title after the championship went down to the final lap of the final race of the season.
The 2021 season was the first under F1’s new financial regulations, with teams splitting their limited expenditure between the development of last year’s car and this year’s car.
Asked if it was important for teams that breached the budget cap to receive a “severe” penalty, Hamilton said: “I think it’s imperative, honestly, just for transparency.
“I think we need to continue to have transparency for the fans, for the integrity of the sport. I don’t really know enough about it. I know obviously there’s lots of conversations that are going on in the background. No one truly knows.
“There’s different numbers and different things being said here and there, so I was expecting those results — like you — to come out yesterday.
“I would like to think that if it’s been delayed it’s because it’s been taken very seriously and I trust that Mohammed [Ben Sulayem, FIA president] is taking it seriously and will do what is right for the sport, I hope.
“I think it would be bad for the sport if action wasn’t taken if there was a breach, but I don’t know if there is so I’ll wait just as you will.”
Hamilton stressed that the “integrity” of the sport was at risk if an appropriate punishment wasn’t meted out, saying his chances of beating Verstappen to last year’s title would have been significantly boosted had his team been…
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