Binotto doubts everyone will stick to budget cap: 'Would be a shame'

The budget cap debate dominated the second half of this season in Formula 1. In the FIA 's reading, Red Bull Racing was the only team not to have complied with the 2021 budget rules. Although Red Bull strenuously denied any such violation, it still agreed to a seven-million fine and 10 per cent less testing time in the wind tunnel. However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko already warned that it will certainly not be just one team going over the budget cap this year.

'We will stay within the 2022 financial rules'

According to Marko, as many as six out of 10 teams will go over the budget cap this year, partly due to unexpected factors such as high inflation and the rising price of energy. Binotto, however, assures that Ferrari is not one of those six teams. " There are rumours going around, but I can assure you that is not the case with Ferrari," Binotto said. "Last year we stayed within the financial regulations and we will be too in 2022. It has been a difficult year, we have always said that the budget cap was harder to meet this season than the last because of the new cars, the lower ceiling and inflation."

Binotto's statements follow confirmation that Ferrari indeed had to stop developing the car relatively early this season to stay within budget rules. Many other teams did have enough leeway to make upgrades in the last few races of the season. Binotto questions this: "The hope is of course that no team has somehow exceeded the ceiling, that would be a shame for sport. However, if you see how some teams are developing, there may be some doubts."