FIA confirms F1 cost cap breach after rumours of huge overspend | F1 | Sport
The FIA has confirmed a “very minor” procedural breach of the Formula 1 cost cap rules has been committed by Aston Martin regarding their accounts from the 2024 season. However, the governing body has decided not to impose any sanctions after entering an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the team.
Aston Martin last week accepted that a small issue with their paperwork meant they had committed a procedural breach of the rules. There were also rumours that another team on the grid might have overspent in 2024, which would have been a “significant” breach of the rules, but the FIA has now confirmed that is not the case.
“Nine F1 teams were found in compliance for 2024, and Procedural Breach identified for AMR GP Ltd [Aston Martin Racing],” an FIA statement read. The Cost Cap Administration confirms that although AMR has been found to be in procedural breach, it has not exceeded the Cost Cap level.
“The Procedural Breach was of a very minor nature, originated by unpredictable circumstances outside the control of the F1 Team. AMR and FIA have entered an ABA on September 29, 2025, to resolve the matter.”
In a summary of that ABA, the FIA confirmed that Aston Martin had missed the March 31 deadline to submit signed versions of its audited financial results from last season. That failure was caused by “exceptional and unpredictable circumstances entirely beyond Aston Martin Racing’s control,” the governing body said.
It added: “Based on the specific circumstances of this case, and taking account of mitigating factors, the Cost Cap Administration has determined that sufficient mitigating factors exist to justify the imposition of no sanction under Articles 6.28 and 8.3(a) of the Financial Regulations.”
The FIA’s announcement also puts to bed rumours of an overspend having been potentially committed by one of the other teams on the grid. Paddock sources had suggested the team in question was disputing any allegation made against them with the FIA and it seems the governing body is now satisfied that no overspend occurred.
Since 2021, teams have had to adhere to a budget limit restricting most areas of their operations in terms of spending. For the 2024 season, the cap was set at around £124million. This does not cover some key areas of expenditure, such as driver salaries and marketing spend.
