Williams slapped with penalty by FIA for breaching sporting regulations

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The FIA has penalised Williams after the Formula 1 minnows failed to submit financial documents on time. The Oxforshire-based outfit didn’t hand in their ‘Full Year Financial Reporting Documentation’ before the March 31 deadline, making them the first team this season to breach budget cap rules.

Williams will be fined $25,000 (£20,000) as a result of the infringement, along with ‘costs incurred by the Cost Cap Administration’. Jost Capito’s team were notified of their breach on April 12 and reportedly responded three days later, admitting blame for their error.

The FIA has said Williams were ‘fully cooperative’ in filing the necessary report before a rescheduled deadline of June 1. Formula 1 introduced a $145million (£115m) budget cap last year, which was reduced to $140m (£111m) this season and will drop once more to £135m (£107m) in 2023.

The apparent oversight will be seen as an avoidable (albeit minor) setback in a disappointing campaign for Williams. Drivers Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi have registered only two top-10 finishes in 2022 (both courtesy of Albon), with the team sat bottom of the manufacturer standings.

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Canadian driver Latifi is uncertain of his future as he approaches the end of his one-year contract with Williams later this season. Albon’s prospects look more secure, meanwhile, after he penned a two-year deal with the company until the end of 2023.

F1’s budget cap has been a topic of fervent debate among some team principals of late. Christian Horner has been particularly vocal in his efforts to see the current restrictions eased.

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The Red Bull boss has cited increases to the cost of living, the price of oil and freight expenses as particular factors in the equation. Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff has sided with his rival and criticised F1’s smaller teams for opposing budget-cap reform.

Addressing the matter this week, Wolff said: “I think the worst for the sport is having a stubborn position that some of the smaller teams think that the big ones are trying to gain an advantage and we’re actually going to screw them by not allowing them to do this and us on the other side seeking to lift the ceiling, which we don’t want to do.”

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