Whilst the spotlight has been heavily on Red Bull in the past weeks, with the ‘Cashgate’ scandal being a topic on everyone’s lips, it has somewhat gone under the radar that Aston Martin are also in negotiations with the FIA in relation to the budget cap.
The team’s breach is not of the same nature as Red Bull’s however, with Aston Martin’s breach being procedural, meaning rather than overspending, they have misunderstood the process of filing documents for the budget cap, with it being rumoured the misinterpreted a tax issue.
Team principal Mike Krack has confirmed that talks are ongoing with the FIA, and due to reach a conclusion in the next few days.
“We are in discussion with the FIA,” he said.
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“I think it will be something that we try to conclude in the next days. So we had some discussions over the weekend as well with them.
“I’m quite confident that we’ll get it solved soon.”
With this being the first year of the regulations, Aston Martin will hope that they get a better understanding of the rules for next season, with multiple team principals explaining how difficult to understand and strict they have been this year.
Red Bull have been called cheats over the previous weeks, with other team bosses like Zak Brown and Toto Wolff being very vocal about their views on the Milton Keynes based team’s overspend of the $145m budget.
Krack has explained that although his team are in the wrong, their error is much less severe than Red Bull’s hence the differing treatment.
“It’s complex, it’s a complex set of regulations,” he explained.
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“It is not frustrating, it shows us that we have to do a better job in the future, that we are not having such issues.
“But at the end of the day, I think probably the most important thing is that we were under the cap, and the rest is procedural.”
Aston Martin were tipped for success at the start of the season, but they had a below par year.
Regardless, the team will be hoping to finish the year strong by beating Alfa Romeo, who sit only a point ahead of them, going into the final three races of the year.