Toto Wolff has called for Formula 1's cost cap audit process to be completed "very early" to avoid a repeat of Red Bull in 2022. During October's Singapore Grand Prix weekend, rumours surfaced that at least one team had breached the cost cap, although Red Bull boss Christian Horner denied it was his outfit. Red Bull were subsequently found to have overspent the 2021 limit by $1.8 million, although this figure was reduced to only $400,000 after a tax issue with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - the UK body responsible for the taxation system. The saga was finally ended in late October when Red Bull accepted a fine for the overspend and deduction in wind-tunnel and CFD time, but Wolff wants the process to be sped up in 2023 to avoid a repeat.
Wolff's cost cap hope
"I think everybody is keen to have the results of the audits and potential consequences very early on in the season," Wolff told media including RacingNews365. "It is [FIA President] Mohammed [Ben Sulayem] and Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO], it is all the teams because we don't want to have a drag until October to find out that somebody has breached [the cap] for the previous season. "Then what does that mean for penalties? When would it take effect because if those penalties come into place very late in the season, you're actually taking the amount you do the next season. "So we are all keen, all the stakeholders are keen to have the audits as quickly as possible. "[We must bear] in mind that obviously Frederico [Lodi, Head of FIA financial regulations], and the FIA have limited resources, limited manpower and they're doing their best."
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