Aston Martin fined $450,000 for procedural breach of budget cap
An image of the badge of car manufacturer Aston Martin.
Aston Martin have been fined $450,000 for their procedural breach of the 2021 budget cap.
The Silverstone-based team, along with Red Bull, were found to be in breach of Formula 1’s financial regulations which had been introduced for the first time in the 2021 season.
But unlike Red Bull, who were found to have exceeded the spending limit by $2.2million, it was only a procedural breach committed by Aston Martin.
In a statement, the FIA said there was no suggestion Aston Martin had tried to seek any undue advantage in committing the breach.
The statement read: “AMR GP Limited (“AMR”) was found to be in procedural breach of the Financial Regulations, notwithstanding the fact its Relevant Costs during the 2021 reporting period were under the Cost Cap.
“However, in the presence of specific circumstances, the Cost Cap Administration offered to AMR an Accepted Breach Agreement (“ABA”) to resolve this matter. That offer was accepted by AMR.
“The Cost Cap Administration recognised AMR has acted cooperatively and in good faith throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach.
“An ABA dated 25 October 2022 was therefore entered into by and between the Cost Cap Administration and AMR pursuant to Article 6.28 of the Financial Regulations.”
Accepted Breach Agreement between AMR GP Limited and the FIA for breach of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Financial Regulationshttps://t.co/F6vOW3pDQk
— FIA (@fia) October 28, 2022
A summary of the terms of the ABA confirmed the $450,000 fine, which must be paid within 30 days of the ABA, and also listed 12 points where Aston Martin were found to have omitted or understated relevant costs.
Aston Martin are not the only team to have committed a procedural breach of the budget cap because Williams were fined $25,000 in June having missed the March 31 2022 deadline to submit their expenditure details.
Red Bull, meanwhile, have been fined $7million and will incur a 10% reduction in car development time in respect of wind tunnel and CFD hours.
Read more: The full FIA report into Red Bull’s 2021 budget cap breach
