Concerns over budget cap: 'Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes asked for explanation'

The budget cap introduced in 2021 continues to cause headaches. Questions currently loom over teams' 'non-F1 activities'. The FIA is reportedly investigating whether possible other branches of the teams, such as building engines, racing bikes or other cars, do not indirectly contribute to their Formula 1 performance, La Gazzetta dello Sport writes.

Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin have been asked for clarification by the FIA, writes the Italian newspaper. The federation would like to investigate whether the teams are not circumventing the budget cap, by gaining relevant information for their Formula 1 branch through investing in other company sports. Ferrari, for example, could get additional data through their Le Mans team, without it being part of the budget cap. Red Bull and Mercedes both invest in boat racing and Aston Martin, like Ferrari and Mercedes, builds road cars. Information on engines or aerodynamics could then come in handy when further developing Formula 1 cars.

At Red Bull, for instance, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko head several business units, including Red Bull Advanced Technology, Red Bull Powertrains and Red Bull Advances Services. According to the newspaper, only 59 people are on the F1 team's payroll, which is in stark contrast to the 875 employees at the main Red Bull Technologies group.

At Mercedes, James Allison was previously the head of the Ineos boat project, while he is now reinstated as technical director of the Formula 1 team. The FIA is said to be looking into whether shifting personnel could not help teams stay within the budget cap margins.

On 31 March, all teams sent their 2022 reports to the FIA. The outcome is expected from the racing body at the end of this month.