Breaking: Delayed FIA decision indicates Red Bull trickery

Cashgate speculation will continue for at least another weekend, as the FIA have delayed the release of their findings.

The FIA have pushed their final verdict on whom stayed within the financial regulations last year back until Monday 10 October.

The teams had a $145 million cap imposed on them last season, which they were all expected to adhere to.

They were also told to document all of their spending, and submit their paperwork to the FIA for them to review.

The governing body then analyses the documents to make sure all the figures add up, and they give teams who have abided by the rules a certificate of compliance.

READ: ‘You had a good lap?’ Charles Leclerc mocks Max Verstappen

Last week, Red Bull and Aston Martin were mentioned in a report that suggested that two teams may have exceeded the budget cap last season.

It implied that Red Bull had gone over by around $10 million, which would put them in material breach of the financial regulations.

Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, suggested that the Austrian side had gone over by more than five percent, and that the FIA had been investigating Christian Horner’s team for months.

Horner was livid at those accusations, and he is thought to be considering legal action what he sees as defamation.

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The FIA were set to finish their analysis of the documents on Wednesday, and disclose who had stayed with the cost cap, and who had not.

However, they confirmed that they are not going to be able to finish that until early next week.

This could be for a number of reasons, one of which being due to fresh reports on Wednesday morning that Red Bull had gone over, but by less than five percent, which is a minor overspend.

It was also reported that the Milton Keynes-based side had found a loophole whereby they could use a more creative interpretation of the rules.

Were that the case, the FIA would need to look for mitigating circumstances, which they cannot manage by the end of Wednesday.

READ: Cashgate Scandal: FIA reacts to claim ex-Toto Wolff adviser leaked information

It could also be that they have found Red Bull, or any other teams, to be in breach, and are now finalising a suitable punishment that fits the severity of the breach.

Max Verstappen could wrap up his second world title in Japan this weekend and, in celebration of their partnership, the Honda name has returned to their cars, as well as those of AlphaTauri.

The engines themselves have not changed due to the engine freeze – the return of the Honda name is purely a branding swap.