The FIA says it is maintaining its commitment to conducting a thorough review of Formula 1's cost cap for 2022, prioritizing accuracy over haste despite growing pressure from certain parties to expedite the process.
Last week, the F1 paddock's rumor mill was rife with whispers that at least three teams have been deemed in breach of the sport's cost cap regulations by the FIA's financial auditors, allegations that the governing body vehemently refuted, asserting that no conclusive findings have yet been made.
Concurrently, F1 boss Stefano Domenicali publicly expressed his keenness to see the governing body expedite the publication of its review and verifications, if only to quell the escalating rumors.
"Control is in the hands of the FIA," he said, quoted by Motorsport.com. "Personally, what I have asked is to anticipate as soon as possible the publication of the investigations made by the staff of the FIA.
"But I say this only because, in this way, it does not give rise to speculation and comments that are not good for anyone."
In response to Domenicali's remarks and to the rumors swirling in the paddock, the FIA has issued a statement in which it states that the thorough examination of the teams' 2022 submissions is ongoing and will be pursued in the manner deemed most effective by the organization, even if it requires a further investment of time.
"The auditing fieldwork is still ongoing and is scheduled to conclude in the upcoming weeks, after which there will be a period required for the finalisation of the review," said the FIA.
"There is not, and has never been, a specific deadline for certification, and any suggestions of delays to this process or potential breaches are completely unfounded.
"The Cost Cap Administration will formally communicate its findings according to the procedure set out in the Financial Regulations. The timeframe is intentionally not fixed in order not to prejudice the robustness and the effectiveness of the review."
In the continuous assessment of submissions, it has come to light – according to Motorsport.com – that several teams were recently submitted with additional inquiries by the FIA auditors regarding their cost cap spending.
Rather than perceiving the FIA's return for further clarifications as a cause for concern, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff considered the latter a reassuring indication of the FIA's commitment to the investigations.
"I think they came back with tons of questions to lots of teams and that shows how robust the process is," explained Wolff.
"It's good. Strong auditors are beneficial for F1 because we need to stop any kind of unintentional or intentional breach of the cost cap: it's like technical and sporting regulations."
Asked if the governing body's additional queries had given rise to any internal concerns at Mercedes, Wolff said: "Our audit was finished a couple of months ago. And since then, we have no indication that we've fallen short of anything, as far as we understand."
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