No team has actually gone over the budget cap, despite what you might have heard from a TV presenter and several media outlets last week.
The FIA’s investigation took longer than expected, which got people talking. What was causing the delay? Had another team broken the spending rules?
Early rumors pointed to Aston Martin, which turned out to be partly true. But surely a wrong signature couldn’t be the only issue holding things up.
The rumor mill went into overdrive. Various media claimed that alongside Aston Martin, another team had exceeded the budget cap. These sources weren’t as well-informed as they thought.
On Tuesday, the FIA finally cleared the air. Only Aston Martin had made a minor procedural error. All nine other teams passed the audit with flying colors.
Now the question is: will the wrongly accused teams get apologies? One TV presenter boldly stated on live television: “We’re not naming names, but come on. It’s Mercedes or McLaren. I’ll just say it myself, who cares.”
## F1 fans take the presenter’s words at face value
It really does matter what presenters say on TV because viewers often treat these comments as facts. You can see this in the replies to the FIA’s announcement on X.
Countless fans are suggesting the FIA is protecting a big team.
It shows how much damage a simple sentence can do to a team’s public image.
McLaren, who just won the 2024 Constructors’ Championship, is taking the brunt of the online criticism.
This highlights how important trust is for the public, while journalists need to focus on getting the story right. You can have all the “exclusives” you want, but are they accurate? That’s what counts.
Right after the presenter made those claims on TV, GPblog reached out to Mercedes and McLaren. Their response said it all.
Both teams found the accusation so ridiculous they didn’t even want to respond. They knew they had fully complied with the budget cap rules. Still, they appreciated being asked about it—something that apparently happens less and less these days, allowing rumors to spread unchecked.
Here’s the bottom line: McLaren and Mercedes, like seven other teams, followed the budget cap regulations perfectly. The FIA spent more than six months investigating this. It’s such detailed work that even a missing signature caused a procedural error for Aston Martin.
The idea that McLaren or Mercedes could somehow break the budget rules without other teams noticing is simply unthinkable.
And there’s a lesson here for fans: only get your news from websites and sources you can actually trust!
## GPblog’s latest F1 Paddock Update has arrived!
Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog’s F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog’s YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.
