Lewis Hamilton raises suspicions of teams breaking rules as star reignites row

Lewis Hamilton is “concerned” F1 teams may be intentionally breaking the rules after Red Bull’s budget cap penalty last season. The Mercedes star admitted there was nothing to stop teams breaking the budget cap regulations because Red Bull were only hit with a small penalty last season. 

The seven-time champion stressed some teams would “probably” breach the allowance and take a “slap on the wrist” for the extra advantage. It comes after reports have suggested two or three teams may have exceeded the 2022 allowance just 12 months on from Red Bull being caught out.

When pushed on the issue ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: “Yes, it’s definitely a concern. I mean, it wasn’t really a big punishment last time so there’s no real [deterrent].

“There’ll be people that will probably go for it again, and know they’re just gonna get slapped on the wrist.”

The FIA concluded that Red Bull had breached the cost cap after an investigation at the back end of last year. The team was hit with a fine as well as a 10 per cent reduction in wind tunnel allowance. 

However, the punishment has yet to dent the world champion’s form with Red Bull winning every race so far this season. Max Verstappen currently sits almost 100 points clear of Sergio Perez in the Drivers’ Championship with the nearest non-Red Bull challenger, Fernando Alonso, 118 points behind.

However, Hamilton refused to open up about what penalties should be dished out to offenders. He added: “It’s not my job to do that. But we have people in place who are supposed to police that. But it doesn’t surprise me because it was not a big penalty before.”

Earlier this week, Motorsport.com suggested that at least three teams may have breached the 2022 cost cap limits. Certificates of compliance are expected to be handed out to teams by the end of July and there could be some discrepancies. 

F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has now suggested sporting penalties needed to be handed out to any caught out. He told Autosport: “I would like the penalty to be sporting in case of infringement, it is something we asked for very clearly.

“There are three regulations to be respected: sporting, technical and financial. Any infractions must be punished with sporting measures. You can’t go in other directions.”