P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Why F1's cost cap now faces key test despite FIA all-clear
“The longer the FIA delayed announcing its findings from the 2022 spending reviews, the greater the prospect was of one or more teams to have been found to be in breach. After the controversy triggered by Red Bull’s 2021 overspend, and unease about the nature of the penalty handed down, more rule-breaking this time around would have been explosive. The ongoing wait in getting an FIA decision meant it was hard to get a consensus in the paddock about what was going to happen. Some teams were leaning towards the FIA giving the all-clear to everyone. Others were predicting a scenario where everyone got pinged for a breach, while a few thought that the matter would again revolve around one or two squads having broken the rules. The increased level of probing from the FIA this year over the submissions, which had included many follow-up questions and thorough factory inspections, meant none of the major squads that operate right at the limit of the cost cap were taking anything for granted. Team bosses were left nervously checking their phones for calls from their Chief Financial Officers to try to get a clearer picture of just when they would get the FIA Certificates of Compliance so they could relax a bit. The FIA’s confirmation then, that all teams complied with the regulations, will have made everyone happy that their own squads were all good. But it will almost certainly not put an end to suspicions that some teams may still be finding ways around the rules. And it is that lingering doubt, no matter how small, that remains the biggest challenge for the cost cap going forward. There is an acceptance in the paddock that the cost cap can only succeed if teams have total trust that it is being policed in the correct manner. If that faith is not there, then the whole thing collapses as a useful tool to reign in spending.”
Source: Autosport.com
