“I think it’s imperative,” Lewis Hamilton asks ‘severe’ penalty for teams who breach the budget cap
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Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton walked over to Suzuka as Japan receives a warm welcome after two years. The last time drivers raced around the Asian circuit drivers and teams only had to worry about a faster car. But things have changed with the return of Japan in the calendar. 2022 has brought a newly regulated aero car with budget caps that were already introduced in 2021.
The Budget Cap introduced in 2021 stops teams from spending extra amounts on overly judged upgrades for their cars. This has been done to get the top teams and lower teams in line with each other when it comes to upgrades. But as the latest rumours suggest Red Bull and Aston Martin are the two teams who have allegedly gone over the cost cap in 2021, which now could get them in trouble.
As of Wednesday, 5th of October, FIA was prepared to give its ruling on the accounts of all the teams which later got delayed to the 10th of October. Hamilton stresses that the penalty must be severe if a team is found to spend over the limit: “I think it’s imperative, honestly, just for transparency. I think we need to continue to have transparency for the fans, for the integrity of the sport.” said Lewis.
Lewis Hamilton keeps his confidence in the FIA president
Lewis Hamilton surely knows and understands the work and mind behind the regulations, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Budget Cap could seriously hamper the team’s campaign if not taken seriously. The punishment could go from monetary penalties to suspension from the championship.
He trusts the FIA president to do ‘what is right’ in the current situation: “I would like to think that if it’s been delayed it’s because it’s been taken very seriously and I trust that Mohammed [Ben Sulayem, FIA president] is taking it seriously and will do what is right for the sport, I hope.”
The British driver thinks that if a team is found to have breached the cap, then there must be consequences: “I think it would be bad for the sport if action wasn’t taken if there was a breach, but I don’t know if there is so I’ll wait just as you will.” said Hamilton, according to ESPN.
There is still no clarity over what the punishment can/would be in case of a possible breach, but it is widely reported that it’s unlikely that the Driver’s championship will be affected by it. This means that Max Verstappen’s title is very likely to stand.
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Soham Raj Jain
(480 Articles Published)