Recently, there were news regarding the Red Bull team where they may have exceeded the budget cap for the 2021 season. I believe that this case is still under investigation. What would happen to the Red Bull team if they were found guilty of exceeding the budget cap? Would the championship be transferred to Hamilton or not?
1 Answer
TL;DR
Depending on the severity of the breach, and assuming that it is Red Bull who are the guilty party (I don't think it's official that they are the team under investigation but the rumour mill is well and truly saying it is), then, yes, there is a possibility that the Driver's Championship could be handed to Lewis Hamilton, by the means of a Points deduction for Max Verstappen, or even out-right disqualification from the Championship, though these are only some of the possible reprimands.
This will depend on just how much any alleged teams have overspent. The punishments are split between a "Minor" and a "Material" overspend breach, which appears to be defined as whether the overspend is above/below 5% over the cap.
From the 2021 FIA Financial Regulations1:
8.10 A "Minor Overspend Breach" arises when:
(a) an F1 Team submits its Full Year Reporting Documentation and Relevant Costs reported therein exceed the Cost Cap by less than 5%; or
(b) following the review of an F1 Team’s Full Year Reporting Documentation (including, where applicable, the conclusion of any investigation undertaken by the Cost Cap Administration and/or the Independent Audit Firm appointed by the Cost Cap Administration), the F1 Team’s Relevant Costs have been determined to exceed the Cost Cap by less than 5%.
8.11 In the event the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel determines that an F1 Team has committed a Minor Overspend Breach, the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel may impose a Financial Penalty and/or any Minor Sporting Penalties.
8.12 A "Material Overspend Breach" arises when:
(a) an F1 Team submits its Full Year Reporting Documentation and Relevant Costs reported therein exceed the Cost Cap by 5% or more; or
(b) following the review of an F1 Team’s Full Year Reporting Documentation (including, where applicable, the conclusion of any investigation undertaken by the Cost Cap Administration and/or the Independent Audit Firm appointed by the Cost Cap Administration), the F1 Team’s Relevant Costs have been determined to exceed the Cost Cap by 5% or more.
8.13 In the event the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel determines that an F1 Team has committed a Material Overspend Breach, the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel shall impose a Constructors' Championship points deduction in accordance with Article 9.1(c)(i) and additionally may impose a Financial Penalty and/or any other Material Sporting Penalties.
Then later in the regulations, the punishments for a Minor and Material breach are laid out in Article 9:
9.1 The following sanctions may be imposed for breach of these Financial Regulations as set out in Article 8:
(a) A "Financial Penalty", meaning a fine in an amount to be determined on a case by case basis.
(b) A "Minor Sporting Penalty", meaning one or more of the following:
(i) public reprimand;
(ii) deduction of Constructors' Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
(iii) deduction of Drivers' Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
(iv) suspension from one or more stages of a Competition or Competitions, excluding for the avoidance of doubt the race itself;
(v) limitations on ability to conduct aerodynamic or other Testing; and/or
(vi) reduction of the Cost Cap
(c) A "Material Sporting Penalty", meaning one or more of the following:
(i) deduction of Constructors' Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
(ii) deduction of Drivers' Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
(iii) suspension from one or more stages of a Competition or Competitions, excluding for the avoidance of doubt the race itself;
(iv) limitations on the ability to conduct aerodynamic or other Testing;
(v) suspension from an entire Competition or Competitions, including for the avoidance of doubt the race itself;
(vi) exclusion from the Championship; or
(vii) reduction of the Cost Cap
- These are the regulations for the year in which Red Bull were alleged to have broken the rules
