Ferrari and McLaren cleared amid fresh budget cap speculation

The Formula 1 paddock is on alert as whispers of a possible budget cap breach intensify, though new reports from Italy claim both Ferrari and McLaren have passed their audits without issue.

Writing in Corriere della Sera, veteran journalist Daniele Sparisci revealed that a “top-tier team” is under investigation for exceeding the 2024 spending limit, a case said to be more serious than Aston Martin’s minor procedural error recently confirmed by the FIA.

"Rumours continue to filter out from the paddock about a top-tier team that has exceeded its budget cap for 2024 - the equivalent of Financial Fair Play in football - more significantly than the minor procedural infringement admitted by Aston Martin," Sparisci wrote.

"The FIA has not yet approved the certificates of conformity." He added, however, that Ferrari and McLaren are not under scrutiny.

"Ferrari is safe and not under the scrutiny of the auditors," he confirmed. "And the same goes for McLaren. The World Championship, however, is in turmoil."

The FIA’s Cost Cap Administration has yet to release its annual certification list, originally expected in September, fuelling speculation that one leading team may have breached the limit. Pressed for comment in Mexico, team principals refused to name names.

Sauber boss Jonathan Wheatley, who oversaw Red Bull’s cost cap submission during its 2021 breach, said the delay itself suggests an issue somewhere.

"I think the first thing I would say is that nobody’s doing it intentionally," Wheatley said. "These things happen sometimes. Things can just get out of control a little bit, like a car crash or unexpected costs late on.

"I don’t want to speculate on the cause, but I think we now understand why the FIA’s publication has been delayed."

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur also took a measured view "If someone did a procedural breach, I think this can happen to everybody," he said. "And it’s not a sporting advantage. We have to separate sporting advantage with a sporting penalty from a technical mistake or administrative issue. Let’s wait and see."

Haas counterpart Ayao Komatsu agreed. "Nobody does it intentionally," he said. "We’ve just got to adjust the process and wait for the outcome."

The FIA has so far declined to confirm which team, if any, is being investigated, saying only that the 2024 financial assessments “remain ongoing.”