Brown wants F1 cost cap offences strictly punished like technical rule breaks
The FIA is expected to issue the certificates of compliance on Monday, finally revealing which teams have overspent in 2021.
The 10 F1 teams are only allowed to spend $145 million, but according to recent reports, at least two teams on the grid - rumoured to be Red Bull and Aston Martin - have exceeded that figure.
Currently, teams that have exceeded the budget cap by less than five percent will escape without any major punishment in the form of reprimand or points deductions.
Overspending by more than five percent could see disqualification from the championship, reduction in spending or testing limitations.
However, Brown has stressed the need for teams to be punished appropriately, like they would for a technical infringement on race day.
“I don’t know more than anyone else other than the certificates were supposed to be distributed on Wednesday and they’ve now been postponed to Monday, which means for some reason they’re not ready which you can, based on the speculation, assume a team or two haven’t complied,” he said.
“I don’t know that to be the case. The cost cap is critically important and we need to make sure it’s enforced if someone has breached that the appropriate penalties, not just financial, but specifically sporting and technical are put in place because if you bend the rules technically in sporting you get penalties and financial should be the same.
“Because if someone has overspent that gives them an on-track unfair advantage and needs to be dealt with accordingly, firmly and quickly.”
Despite the speculation, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has insisted on multiple occasions that the team is well within the cap, and the rumours are detracting from Max Verstappen’s success on track.
George Russell and Charles Leclerc have called for appropriate punishment for any teams guilty of breaking the regulations.
Fernando Alonso has backed the FIA to ensure F1 remains a “fair environment”.
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton claimed that the outcome of last season’s championship would have been different had Mercedes matched Red Bull’s car development.
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