F1 introduced a $145m budget cap last season to reduce spending. That figure was lowered by $5m fo🐠r 2022 but teams have been permitted a 3.5% overspent to fight rising inflation. 

Debate over F1’s financial regulations has become a political battleground this season, with Red Bull’s in-season developmenไt arousing suspicion at rivals Ferrari. 

There has been speculation in the F1 paddock that Red Bull are readying a new lightweight chassis that would shave 4kgs off their current one. Red Bull are believed to be targeting October’s Singapore Gra🐟nd Prix for its introduction, but it could come sooner. 

However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner denied this was the case when asked about his team’s developmen🐲t plans following Sunday⛎’s Belgian Grand Prix. 

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said: "I cannot know wha🌠t they are doing, if they have a lighter chassis or not, but geꦜnerally speaking, the budget cap is always a concern.

"The financial regulations can make differences between teams in the wa💜y they are interpreting and somehow executing it.

"And w♔e know we need to have a very strong FIA to make sure they are properly focusing, otherwise the regulations will not be fair and equitable.

"Ferrari would never be capable of introducing a lightweight chassis or a different ꦆchassis through a season simply for budget cap and I would be very surprised if a team is capable of doing it.

"And if they are, it is back to the regulation itself. Is it fair enough, is it equitable enough, is the policing suffܫicient? It’s a big question mark. 

“It is a very green regulation at the moment. The number of peop👍le in the FIA monitoring it is very little.

“So it has to improve for the future because it would be really bad if somehow a championship was dictated by financial regulation and not technical or s𒁏𒐪porting.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said his tea🐼m would not be able to afford such an update.

"We wouldn't be ab♉le to introduce a chassis at that stage of the season,” he said. 

“We are massively overweight, which we haven't been able to dial out because we are trying parts on th🐈e car in order to solve our various issues, so can't afford🔜 that, full stop.

"So what was aimed for by introducing the cost cap absolutely hit the target. It is what they wanted to achieve. The 𒆙big teams can't just throw money ꦰat it."