Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (F.I.A.) is facing a difficult decision–how to respond to alleged team overspending violations. Champion Red Bull is among the teams F.I.A. is investigating.
Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing, and Williams violated the overspending rule, and F.I.A. must now decide what to do, including whether penalties will be levied and, if so, how much and to which teams.
Aston Martin may be the first time to be adjudicated. Williams was fined in June for their financial breach of $25,000 US Dollars and could face another penalty if overspending is found again. Then, there is champion Red Bull Racing, the winner of the Driver’s Championship (second year in a row) and the Constructor’s Championship (first since 2013).
Red Bull have already stated on Twitter that its 2021 cost cap limit was below what had to be spent, and (with that) the company is disappointed with F.I.A. But don’t look to other teams to lend Red Bull a vote of support.
There are many guesses about how things will turn out. One possibility is that the companies will be required to pay back to F.I.A. what they overspent. Another option is much more severe–to strip Verstappen of his 2021 Driver’s Championship. If that happened, Lewis Hamilton would win his record-breaking eighth title.
The stakes are high. Formula One has gained considerable popularity, making it the most watched form of motorsport worldwide and among the most watched of all sports globally. So, everyone is waiting to see how F.I.A. will decide, and it’s obvious that Red Bull has the most to lose.
But whatever the decisions might be, there is also the matter of how fans and others will interpret the actions. At issue is whether decisions will be interpreted as being in the sport’s best interest.
