Honda and Alpine commit breaches of Formula One cost cap

All 10 Formula One teams respected the cost cap on their chassis-manufacturing in 2023, although engine manufacturers Alpine and Honda both breached procedural regulations, the sport's governing body, the FIA, announced on Wednesday.

"The review of the reporting documentation was a thorough and intensive process spanning five months with all F1 teams and all PU (power unit) manufacturers giving their full support in providing the required information," FIA said.

The body's Cost Cap Administration (CCA) noted "all F1 teams and all PU manufacturers acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and cooperation throughout the process".

While all 10 F1 teams were found in compliance for 2023, there were unspecified breaches for two of the four engine manufacturers: Alpine and Honda, who supplied AlphaTauri and world champions Red Bull.

The CCA said "although Alpine Racing SAS and HRC (Honda) have both been found to be in procedural breach, neither have exceeded the cost cap level".

"Both Alpine Racing SAS and HRC have acted at all times in good faith and are currently cooperating with the CCA to finalise the matter."

The cost cap came into effect after the 2021 season and was set at $140.4 million for 2023.

It is intended to limit spending to make the sport viable and also to close the competitive gap between big and small teams.