"We Can Tell Them That Two Top Teams Are The Same, But That It Costs More."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is clear that one of the leading teams in Formula 1 has been spending more than the rest.

His opposite number at Red Bull, Christian Horner, yesterday accused his rivals of going over the budget ceiling in 2021. Following the reports, the FIA, which is completing a review of data on how much teams spent last year, received the reports. Two groups in violation of the financial regulations introduced last year.

In response to Honore’s claims that the comments against his team were “defamatory,” Wolff called the exchange between team principals “noise.”

“There is a process,” he said. “On Wednesday there will be certificates issued or not issued and then if someone does not comply there is a process and management.

Report: Red Bull’s rivals urged to drop ‘imaginary, defamatory’ claims they breached Expenditure Capital

“For me, I am 100% sure that the FIA will do the right thing. So everything else is just rumors until then. It is important for us that capital expenditure is respected. It’s the cornerstone of the new rules and I really hope all teams do that.

Horner raised doubts about the allegations against the group, asking how a competitor could have knowledge of the finances. Wolff says the data Mercedes has gathered from looking at its competitors shows that one team’s spending doesn’t keep up with the others.

“Every race, the ’21 season and the ’22 season, we keep a close eye on which parts from the top teams come to the track. “And we see that there are two top teams that are the same, but there is another team that spends more money.

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“So we know we’re spending three and a half million a year on the parts we’re bringing to the car, and then you can see what a difference spending another 500,000 makes—it’s a big difference.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Singapore, 2022 — Mercedes had to reduce their development due to budget constraints

Wolff said his team had to negotiate to keep costs within the cap. “We didn’t make lightweight materials for the car to take it down from double-digit overweight because we simply didn’t have the money,” he said. “So we have to make a car for next year.

“We can’t put together a lightweight chassis because we’re only two million above the cap. So you can see that every additional cost has a performance advantage.

Even “minor” violations of up to 5 percent of the rules can turn into multi-million dollar and big profits, up from last year’s $145 million.

“Is it a minor violation? “I think the term is probably incorrect because if you’re spending five million more and still have a ‘minor breach’ it still has a big impact on the championship,” Wolff said.

The financial rules provide for various penalties for any team overspending, including fines, reductions in future spending, point deductions, and more. Wolff urged the FIA to impose tougher penalties if a team is found to be breaking the rules.

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“So in terms of the penalties, there’s a catalog of penalties that the FIA has to decide what’s appropriate or it goes to the costs adjudication panel, it’s administrative and we have no say in that.” We should not have an opinion on this, we should see what the result is and then someone can comment.

“But again, all the stakeholders in the sport, the teams that comply with the rules, the FIA, Formula 1, have to make sure that these rules have teeth for performance reasons – they can have a real competitive advantage,” he said.

However, the driver admitted it was a tough call to issue a penalty that could have affected his championship finish.

“I’m telling you, I don’t want to be in the judges’ shoes. On top of that, there are drivers driving their guts out and decisions the team isn’t involved in. But you still end up sitting in a car that’s probably on steroids. So it’s a tough, tough call.

“I don’t want to make a judgment call. And to be honest, my thoughts are not far off. [ahead]This is more on the principle of how it is going to come out in the future.

“How strong are these rules? How are they being enforced and enforced? How is the governance process going to work? Because we don’t know when it’s going to go to a panel of judges to decide how the judges will decide. I think it’s for all of us to learn from that.”

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