Stefano Domenicali has called for Formula 1 teams to be issued sporting penalties for breaking the cost cap as opposed to technical or financial sanctions. In 2022, Red Bull were fined $7 million and docked 10% of their wind-tunnel and CFD development time for exceeding the spending limit imposed on teams during the 2021 season. F1's governing body, the FIA is currently analysing the submissions and accounts from teams for the 2022 season, with the process brought forward after the Red Bull controversy overshadowed the latter half of last season. Some leading teams believed the sanctions handed to Red Bull were comparatively 'light' with F1 chief Domenicali believing a tweak is needed in case of any breach.
Domenicali's call
Some sporting penalties available to the FIA as a penalty include docking of championship points, being banned from sessions at Grands Prix, reprimands or even a reduction in the following year's cost cap to offset the overspend. It is these Domenicali would like to see deployed. "I would like the penalty to be sporting in case of infringement, it is something we asked for very clearly," he explained to Autosport. "There are three regulations to be respected: sporting, technical and financial. Any infractions must be punished with sporting measures. You can't go in other directions." Owing to the complexity of the financial regulations, it takes a lot of manpower to analyse the submissions from all 10 teams, with the FIA not announcing any breaches until the full process has been completed. "Control is in the hands of the FIA," Domenicali said of the process. "Personally what I have asked is to anticipate as soon as possible the publication of the investigations made by the staff of the FIA. "But I say this only because, in this way, it does not give rise to speculation and comments that are not good for anyone." Red Bull were the only team to overspend in 2021, with Aston Martin and Williams both being found not in compliance after procedural breaches, and did not break the spending limit.
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