FIA’s cost cap policing should deter future ‘cover ups’, says Ben Sulayem
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is hopeful that the way his governing body handled last year’s Formula 1 cost cap breaches will stop any ‘cover ups’ in the future.


Both Red Bull and Aston Martin were found to have broken the 2021 cost cap during investigations last year, as new spending restrictions in grand prix racing were enforced for the first time.
While Aston Martin’s offence was a procedural breach, Red Bull’s was more controversial as it was found to have overspent by $1.8 million. It was handed a $7 million fine and a 10 percent reduction in aerodynamic testing.
The way that the FIA handled Red Bull’s offence was viewed as a huge test case for the success of the cost cap, and in the end the punishment was viewed by most teams to have been a good compromise.
Reflecting on what happened, and the fact that FIA was so open in its handling of the affair, Sulayem is optimistic that the budget limit rules will remain fully respected by teams.
Speaking to media at the Dakar Rally, he said that the cost cap was a much easier way of levelling out the playing field than constant tweaking of Balance of Performance as happens in other categories.
“It’s not an easy task, to do equivalent of technology or the Balance of Performance,” he said. “The one thing that I can say, and I can see is that it’s working and we have to police it, is the cost cap.
“I was very clear with what happened with Red Bull and Aston Martin. We made sure that nothing was hidden, and we were very transparent.
“We did the team [investigation], did the check up, went through the whole process and we cleared it publicly to everyone. I hope nobody can use the cost cap and try to cover up things. The teams now are very clear that the FIA is there as the governing body. They are there watching, and that is our beauty, that is our responsibility."

Red Bull was handed a $7 million fine and a 10 percent reduction in aerodynamic testing after having overspent by $1.8 million in 2021.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Ben Sulayem believes the cost cap is an essential element of the new era of F1, and he hopes it can act to help make smaller teams more competitive.
“When it comes to the cost cap, there is one thing, it has to work,” he said. “Yes, the gap is big, but we just have to push more into it to make sure the other teams come up to the level of the big teams.”
Aston Martin winners
Ben Sulayem believes teams that are investing, like Aston Martin, now have an opportunity to be able to go and win in the future because big spending manufacturers no longer have an automatic advantage.
Asked if he believed a competitor like Aston Martin would be winning within two or three years, he said: “They should. And the way the investment is going, and then having a smart guy like Fernando [Alonso], I believe yes.
“Performance first is important. Winning is very hard. You can talk about Ferrari, but Ferrari did not win. But was it because it is slow? No. It’s maybe the reliability, the management, the whole thing mixed together.
“I think Aston Martin is not short of the finance. It maybe needs a different way of [doing things]. And the changes that Mr Stroll is changing now into it, bringing another driver, bringing a new discipline to his team, new personnel, that is very important also.”

How Russell can make history again in F1 2023
Friday favourite: The F1 champion who taught his team-mate a lasting trick

Latest news
Bathurst 12 Hour: Van Gisbergen Mercedes leads after first quarter
Shane van Gisbergen’s Triple Eight Mercedes headed Matt Campbell’s Manthey Porsche after three hours of racing at Mount Panorama in the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Tanak scores first Puma win in preparation for WRC Rally Sweden
Ott Tanak claimed his first victory driving an M-Sport Ford Puma after winning the Otepaa Winter Rally in preparation for next week’s World Rally Championship round in Sweden.
Ranking the worst Formula 1 cars to win a grand prix
Cars that rarely looked like contenders for victory have occasionally slipped through the net to become winners of world championship Formula 1 races. But which was the worst of the bunch?
Schumacher radio criticism highlighted F1 privacy change for Russell
George Russell says that the way an off-the-cuff radio remark criticising Mick Schumacher last year became a big deal shows how he is more under the spotlight in Formula 1.
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.