Aston Martin have entered an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA following a procedural breach of the 2021 Financial Regulations.
After the submission of financial documents by all 10 Formula One teams, the Cost Cap Administration carried out a review under the Financial Regulations, and Aston Martin were found to be in a procedural breach of the rules – even though their costs during the 2021 reporting period were under the cost cap.
The Silverstone based team were found to have incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs pertaining to the building of their new headquarters, new F1 simulator, wind tunnel fees, R&D tax credit, a signing bonus cost, use of transferable components, used inventories, service desk costs, cost of catering services at their headquarters, costs of desks and chairs, sponsor services and outsourced personnel services.
The team now must pay a financial penalty of $450,000 within 30 days of the date of execution of the ABA, plus bear the cost incurred by the Cost Cap Administration.
The Cost Cap Administration recognised that AMR has acted cooperatively and in good faith throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach.
FIA statement.
Non-compliance by the team with any terms of the ABA will result in further procedural breach and automatic referral to the cost cap adjudication panel.
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