Honda and Alpine committed ‘procedural breach’ of engine cost cap · RaceFans

Two Formula 1 engine suppliers committed “procedural breaches” of the new financial regulations governing power units, the FIA has announced.

However the sport’s governing body confirmed none of F1’s four engine manufacturers or 10 teams exceeded the maximum spending limit last year.

The FIA’s Cost Cap Administration confirmed Honda, whose engines were used by Red Bull and AlphaTauri (now RB) last year, and Alpine, whose engines are provided by Renault, “have both been found to be in procedural breach [but] neither has exceeded the cost cap level.” Last year’s engine cost cap limit was $136.8 million (£104.5m).

While the cost cap for teams is now in its third year, the financial regulations for engine suppliers only came into force last year. The CCA took this into account when assessing the manufacturers’ compliance with the rules.

“Considering the nature of the breach, the complexities of the new financial regulations for PU manufacturers and the challenges associated with their first year of implementation it is the CCA’s intention to propose to these two PU manufacturers to settle their respective breaches by means of an Accepted Breach Agreement,” it said.

The CCA also noted “all F1 Teams and all PU Manufacturers acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and co-operation throughout the process” which took five months to complete.

Honda officially withdrew from F1 as an engine manufacturer at the end of 2021. However as F1’s engine specifications were frozen at the beginning of 2022, Red Bull’s two teams continued to use Honda’s engines, which are now branded as Honda RBPT. Honda will return to F1 as Aston Martin’s power unit supplier in 2026.

All 10 teams also complied with the cost cap in 2022, however three teams were found in breach when those rules were first introduced in 2021. Williams submitted its documents too late, Aston Martin committed a “procedural” breach – for which it was fined £388,000 – and Red Bull over-spent by £1.86m.

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