Red Bull have described as “speculation” claims they breached Formula 1’s budget cap last season. Aston Martin, the other team linked with a breach, said they were “in discussion with the FIA and awaiting certification”. But the budget teams spend during a season also includes their development for the following year’s car, so any breach would have had an impact on a team’s performance in 2022. The budget cap was introduced as part of a swingeing set of regulation changes aimed at closing up the field and making the racing in F1 more competitive. For a material breach, the possibility of banning a team or driver from an entire championship is included. But there is serious concern among teams that the championship could be distorted by breaches of the budget cap. The budget cap reduced to $140m in 2022 and is coming down to $135m in 2023.

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