One thing I always admired about Bernie Ecclestone was not only his ability to create a drama out of a Formula 1 crisis, but the way he’d manage to string it along like a soap opera. It seems to be an approach that the FIA has taken to heart, after it missed its own self-declared deadline to reveal the outcome of the 2021 audit of F1 teams regarding the $145million budget cap. Now, I know from experience that financial audits are drawn-out affairs, but as long as the framework is set in stone then the accountants tend to hit their due dates. The FIA’s statement that “analysis of financial submissions is a long and complex process that is ongoing” suggests that something else is in play here. F1 is all about finding grey areas in a rulebook; it’s what gives you an advantage. We’ll have to wait a little longer to discover the outcome of this one, and what penalties might be handed down to any potential transgressors. By: Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief Motorsport.com |