Mattia Binotto, suspicious that Red Bull are exceeding the budget cap, has called for the FIA to be “very strong.”
Red Bull have pulled away from Ferrari in the standings after a fairly even start to the 2022 season.
They were more dominant than ever last time out at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen won with ease despite starting the race down in P13.
Despite starting on pole, Carlos Sainz didn’t come close to staying ahead of the Dutchman, finishing behind him and the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
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What’s more, Verstappen stated that his team were planning to introduce a new, lighter chassis in the coming weeks.
This surprised Binotto, who said Ferrari don’t have the budget to make such changes and couldn’t understand how Red Bull do.
The team principal expressed concerns about the FIA’s monitoring of the situation.
“We could never afford to develop a lightweight chassis – or any other chassis – during the season because the budget doesn’t allow it,” said the Italian.
“I would be very surprised if that were possible for other teams. You have to ask yourself whether the monitoring is sufficient.
“Unfortunately, very few people keep an eye on it at the FIA. That needs to improve for the future. It would be really bad if the championship were decided by the financial rules.”
He has since spoken more on the matter and has reiterated his doubts that Ferrari’s title rivals are following the rules.
The team boss says the governing body have to be strong in monitoring and enforcing the budget cap.
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“Obviously, first, I cannot know what they are doing, if they have got a lighter chassis or not but certainly, generally speaking, I think the budget cap is always a concern,” he said.
“I think we only mention it through the season because now we have got technical, sporting and as well financial regulations that can make a difference between teams, the way that they are interpreting and executing it.
“And we know that we have to have a very strong FIA to make sure that they are properly focusing because otherwise, the regulation itself would not be fair and equitable.”
Regardless of whether Red Bull introduced a new and improved chassis not, Ferrari have little hope of catching Verstappen and co.
The Dutchman has a huge lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with team-mate Perez second to him, meaning there’s a massive gap between them and the Scuderia in the Constructors’ Championship.