Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff gave his thoughts to Sky Sports yesterday over the emerging story that some teams may have breached the 2021 budget cap.

Reports emerged in the paddock on Friday at the Singapore Grand Prix that two teams may have exceeded the budget cap for the 2021 Formula 1 season.

These were alleged to have been Aston Martin and Red Bull, with it claimed that one team in particular had overspent by a significant amount.

The FIA moved quickly to say that their reports on every team were still being finalised, with a full unveiling expected before the Japanese Grand Prix, and that they had noted 'significant and unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture in relation to the matter,' before saying '[the FIA] reiterates that the assessment is ongoing and due process will be followed without consideration to any external discussion.'

If a team, or teams, are found to be in breach of the 2021 cap there will naturally be a call for penalties to be applied, though it remains to be seen what they could be with the FIA having an array of sanctions available to them and it largely depending on how big the infringement is.

Toto Wolff was in no doubt that this was a big issue that needed dealing with in a firm manner, though, when speaking to Sky Sports:

VIDEO: Toto Wolff discusses budget cap infringement speculation

A heavyweight issue

toto wolff at the austrian gp

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JULY 09: Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff looks on in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on July 09, 2022 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Wolff was asked by Martin Brundle just how big an issue this was, to which the Austrian replied:

“It’s heavyweight, it massively heavyweight.

"We're using used parts. We are not running what we would want to run, we are not developing what we could be developing.

“We have made more than 40 people redundant that are dearly missed in our organisation, and it was a huge mammoth project to make the cap.

“I don't know how many tens of millions we had to restructure and reprocess in order to be below the cap. And if someone has been not doing that, or pushing the boundaries, every million [not spent] is a massive disadvantage.”

We'll get some clearer answers, hopefully, next week around this issue.

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