George Russell has had his say on the current cost cap debacle, stating that he trusts the FIA “bring in an appropriate punishment” if a team is proven to have breached the financial regulations.
The FIA had planned to release the certificates of compliance with the 2021 cost cap on Wednesday but has since delayed the decision until the Monday after the Japanese Grand Prix.
It has become the topic of debate across the Formula 1 paddock amid speculation that Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin may have exceeded the budget during last season.
“It’s not my duty to dive into those details,” Russell said. “I’ll just sit and wait and see what the results are on Monday, but I just know from our experience within Mercedes how hard the whole team has worked to stay within that cost cap.
“We know we can bring more performance to the table if we had more money to spend and it’s as simple as that.”
There is a list of punishments that the FIA can wield on a team that has surpassed the financial regulations, meaning that the governing body has the power to choose whichever punishment they deem fit for an offending team.
Among the list of punishments in the sporting code include a monetary fine, deduction of world championship points and even disqualification from the standings altogether.
Russell has put his trust in the governing body to make the right decision, stating: “I trust in Mohammed [Bin Sulayem] and the FIA to bring in an appropriate punishment for anyone who’s found guilty of the charges accused and it should be quite straightforward.
“You’d expect the amount that’s gone over should be the amount that’s taken off for next year’s budget and probably a bit more on top of that as a punishment. Let’s wait and see.”
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