Red Bull and Aston Martin Reportedly Breached 2021 F1 Cost Cap

Formula 1 introduced a cost cap last year in an attempt to level the playing field. The thinking is that with a budgetary limit in place, teams can't simply spend their way to the top. In the 2010s, Red Bull and Mercedes dominated the sport, but in this new cost-cap era, theoretically, this won't happen anymore. In 2021, there was a $145 million budget in place for teams—excepting marketing costs and the salaries of drivers plus the three highest paid employees at the team—and both Red Bull and Aston Martin are rumored to have exceeded it.

This is unsurprising. F1 teams look for advantages wherever they can find them, sometimes via loophole, other times by outright cheating. According to Racer, the FIA will certify whether teams have met the 2021 cost caps next Wednesday. Overspending the budget by up to 5 percent can result in reprimands and/or points deductions, while overspending beyond 5 percent can lead to exclusion from the championship. Racer, citing anonymous sources, says that Red Bull and Aston Martin went over the $145 million mark, though it's not publicly known by how much.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports the team is "not aware" of any breaches to the cap.