Teams who spend more than allowed by the rules are effectively cheating and should face stiff sporting and financial penalties, McLaren boss Zak Brown has told the governing FIA.
The BBC reported details of the leaked letter yesterday and McLaren confirmed they were correct.
Championship leaders Red Bull, who won the drivers’ title last year and this with Max Verstappen, breached the cap in 2021. The FIA said last week it was a ‘minor overspend’, or less than five per cent of the overall cap, but gave no details of how much was involved. Red Bull have said their submission was below the cost-cap limit.
Brown did not directly name Red Bull or Aston Martin, who were deemed to have committed a procedural breach, in the letter dated October 12, with copies sent to those other teams who complied with the financial regulations.
‘The overspend breach, and possibly the procedural breaches, constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations,’ he wrote.
‘The bottom line is any team who has overspent has gained an unfair advantage both in the current and following year’s car development.
‘We don’t feel a financial penalty alone would be a suitable penalty. There needs to be a sporting penalty in these instances, as determined by the FIA.’
The American said the cost cap, introduced last year to help level the playing field, had been a key factor in attracting new shareholders and investors to Formula One.
‘It is therefore critical that we be very firm on implementing the rules for the integrity and the future of F1,’ he wrote.
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