Since doing anything like a disqualification will be too extreme a punishment for the governing body to stomach, even though that was one of the threatened penalties. I think they should fine the team and then penalize them developmentally. Overspending gives you an advantage from a car development standpoint, so impose reductions in wind tunnel and/or test time for the team in the following season. If they don't make this kind of thing hurt when the teams do it, Toto is right to say they should intentionally break the rule and just face the minor slap on the hand.
Agreed, the solution is somewhere in here.
Zak Brown recently offered a similar idea.
"We don't feel a financial penalty alone would be a suitable penalty for an overspend breach or a serious procedural breach. There clearly needs to be a sporting penalty in these instances, as determined by the FIA.
"We suggest that the overspend should be penalised by way of a reduction to the team's cost cap in the year following the ruling, and the penalty should be equal to the overspend plus a further fine - ie an overspend of $2m in 2021, which is identified in 2022, would result in a $4m deduction in 2023 ($2m to offset the overspend plus $2m fine).
"For context, $2m is (a) 25-50% upgrade to (an) annual car-development budget and hence would have a significant positive and long-lasting benefit.
"In addition, we believe there should be minor overspend sporting penalties of a 20% reduction in CFD and wind tunnel time. These should be enforced in the following year, to mitigate against the unfair advantage the team has and will continue to benefit from."
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