Alpine and Honda to pay fines after accepting 'procedural breaches' of F1 power unit financial regulations

Alpine and Honda will each pay a fine to Formula 1 governing body the FIA after accepting that they were in "procedural breach" of the power unit financial regulations – although the FIA made clear that neither party had acted "in bad faith, dishonestly or in a fraudulent manner” in their respective breaches.

After all six power unit manufacturers registered to supply engines for 2026 onwards submitted the required documentation, the Cost Cap Administration carried out the first ever review process under the Power Unit Financial Regulations.

During this process, both Alpine and Honda were found to have committed a "procedural breach" and have now entered into what is known as an "Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA)" with the FIA.

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A statement released by the FIA on Tuesday confirmed that Alpine breached “Articles 8.1, 8.2(d) and 8.2(e) of the Power Unit Financial Regulations in delaying the exercise by the Cost Cap Administration of its regulatory function and in submitting reporting documentation in respect of the 2023 reporting period that was inaccurate by omitting relevant information”.

It goes on to state that Alpine acknowledged that the assessment report they submitted to the Cost Cap Administration “contained significant deficiencies” and “several required procedures had not been performed at all, and several other procedures had only been partially completed”.

While an updated assessment report addressed all of the deficiencies, Alpine have accepted the breach and will pay a financial penalty of $400,000 to the FIA as well as bearing the costs incurred by the Cost Cap Administration in connection with the preparation of the ABA.

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Honda, meanwhile, were found to have breached Articles 8.1 and 8.2(e) of the Power Unit Financial Regulations due to their “failure to file accurate reporting documentation in respect of the 2023 Reporting Period, by submitting reporting documentation that included incorrect, excluded and/or adjusted costs in the calculation of its relevant costs”.

The company will pay the FIA a financial penalty of $600,000, and like Alpine will additionally bear the costs incurred by the Cost Cap Administration in connection with the preparation of the ABA.

The Cost Cap Administration recognised that Alpine and Honda both “acted cooperatively and in a spirit of good faith throughout the review process” and that there is no accusation or evidence that they “sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in a fraudulent manner” or that they “wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration”.

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Both companies’ "relevant costs" were also below the 2023 cost cap level.