FIA clears all F1 teams on 2024 cost cap - Aston accepts minor slip

The FIA has confirmed that all ten Formula 1 teams successfully met the championship cost cap requirements for the 2024 season, with only Aston Martin found to have committed a minor procedural breach.

The announcement puts to rest recent rumors that a heavyweight squad had overspent and was fighting the findings tooth and nail, leading to the governing body delaying the results of its audit.

Introduced in 2021, the cost cap aims to level the playing field between the sport’s richest teams and the smaller outfits. The cap started at $145 million and has dropped to $135 million in 2025. During the seven-month investigation, every outfit opened its books “in good faith,” the FIA praised, ending months of nervous whispers.

Aston Martin’s Procedural Breach Explained

Aston Martin had already been known to have committed a procedural breach heading into last weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix.

The FIA clarified that the Silverstone-based team was the only squad to do so in 2024. Crucially, the breach did not result in any overspending, and much less in a competitive advantage.

The FIA’s statement in full reads:

“No financial penalties were levied to AMR due to these exceptional and unpredictable circumstances. The Cost Cap Administration confirm that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach. AMR and FIA have entered an ABA (Accepted Breach Agreement) on 29 September 2025 to resolve the matter.”

The issue arose from the team missing the March 31 deadline to submit required documentation. Aston Martin had prepared the files on time, but a key signature from their auditor could not be obtained due to circumstances beyond the team’s control.

Under F1 rules, such procedural missteps are handled through an ABA, a mechanism where the FIA proposes a resolution that the team accepts.

Context and Compliance

All F1 power unit suppliers – Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda and Renault – were found fully compliant. The last time teams committed procedural breaches was in 2023, when Renault and Honda settled ABAs as part of their power unit filings.

Red Bull remains the only team ever to overspend the cap, doing so in 2021, which resulted in a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in wind tunnel and CFD testing.

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