The FIA’s 2026 Formula 1 cost cap does not apply to every expense in a team’s accounts. It limits defined Relevant Costs, after the team removes the categories listed in Article D5 and applies any allocation rules, evidence requirements and ceilings. The current rules are FIA Financial Regulations, Section D, Issue 08, dated 1 October 2026; they apply to reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026. Read the FIA regulations (Articles D1 and D5).
What does “excluded from the cost cap” mean?
Teams calculate Relevant Costs for each full-year reporting period; the cost cap is applied to that defined amount, not to every expense they record. Article D5 identifies costs and amounts to leave out of the calculation. Some exclusions cover a category, while others apply only to an attributable or identifiable share, require evidence, or stop at a specified maximum.
The FIA sets the base cap at $215 million for a 2026 reporting period with 24 competitions or fewer, before applicable indexation and currency conversion. For each competition above 24, the regulation adds $1.8 million to that base, also before applicable indexation. These are cap figures, not amounts excluded from Relevant Costs. The rules require reporting in a team’s presentation currency and provide for indexation and currency conversion. See Articles D4 and D5 of the FIA 2026 regulations.
Which costs are excluded under Article D5?
The following groups summarize the exclusions in Article D5.1.1. The rule’s defined terms and conditions control: a broad category label does not make every related expense automatically exempt.
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Marketing, drivers and other highly paid individuals
- Costs directly attributable to marketing activities.
- Consideration paid for services provided by F1 drivers, and their travel and accommodation; similar consideration and travel and accommodation for other racing drivers.
- Costs directly attributable to managing and operating Academy Program Activities.
- Consideration for the three individuals with the highest aggregate consideration recognized in the Reporting Group, excluding people whose consideration is already fully excluded elsewhere under Article D5. The exclusion also covers the associated employer social-security contributions and their travel and accommodation.
The three-individual provision is distinct from the exclusions for F1 drivers and other racing drivers; it is not a general exemption for all senior employees.
Heritage, non-F1 work and support functions
- Costs directly attributable to Heritage Asset Activities. A qualifying identifiable part of heritage personnel consideration may also be excluded if the team proves the connection to the Cost Cap Administration’s satisfaction; associated employer social-security contributions are included.
- Costs directly attributable to non-F1 activities, including qualifying personnel consideration and related employer social-security contributions. For certain shared staff, utilities, property maintenance and equipment maintenance, the team must establish the identifiable portion related to specified non-F1 work. This includes power-unit supply, customer-team support, FIA projects and sole-supplier standard-component work.
- Costs directly attributable to Human Resources Activities, Finance Activities or Legal Activities, and all defined Property Costs.
Finance, tax, accounting and currency items
- Finance costs and corporate income tax.
- Specified depreciation, impairment and disposal amounts for property and for assets used exclusively for enumerated excluded activities.
- Foreign-exchange gains and losses recognized in profit or loss.
- Mandatory employer social-security contributions required by law.
Bonuses, championship payments and penalties
- Eligible Employee Bonus Costs, up to the lower of 20% of Total Fixed Employee Remuneration and the indexed Excluded Bonus Maximum. Associated employer social-security contributions are also excluded to the extent they relate to the excluded amount.
- Team entry and participation payments to the FIA, FIA Super Licence payments for F1 drivers, and amounts paid to the Championship Commercial Rights Holder under the team’s participation contract.
- Penalties under the financial regulations and monetary FIA fines for breaches of the specified FIA regulation sections.
Power units, fuel and race or test travel
- Costs of goods and services within the Power Unit Supply Perimeter, up to the applicable maximum price specified in Section A.
- Costs paid to a power-unit manufacturer directly attributable to development, testing and validation of alternative fuel and oil for the team’s F1 power unit.
- FIA-homologated fuel bought for competition and testing, surrogate fuel used on a team car during current-car testing, and transportation of homologated fuel to team premises.
- For F1 Activities Personnel, specified hotel, flight, rail and road transport between an airport or station, hotel, and the competition or current-car testing site.
Employee welfare, safety and operations
- Employee entertainment provided on a substantially equal basis, up to $1.2 million adjusted for indexation if applicable.
- Qualifying maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave costs under a bona fide formal written policy applied substantially equally.
- Qualifying consideration and employer social-security costs for an employee on indefinite sick or disability leave who is not expected to return, to the extent provided during the absence.
- Sustainability Initiative Costs and Health and Safety Costs.
- Catering directly attributable to a competition or current-car test, and catering at team premises for guests and F1 Activities Personnel.
Business continuity and disaster recovery
Costs solely and exclusively for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery can be excluded if the team proves their purpose to the Cost Cap Administration’s satisfaction. The exclusion is limited to $1.5 million, adjusted for indexation if applicable.
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When do shared or mixed costs qualify?
Article D5.1.2 addresses costs directly attributable to one or more specified activities, including marketing, academy programs, heritage, non-F1 work, HR, finance, legal, sustainability, health and safety, and qualifying catering. If a cost serves both an eligible activity and F1 work, the team cannot assume the whole invoice is excluded: it must apply the regulation’s allocation and attribution requirements. Some categories specifically require an identifiable portion, supporting records or proof to the Cost Cap Administration’s satisfaction.
The practical question is therefore not just what an expense is called, but which activity caused it, how the team allocated any shared use, and whether the applicable rule’s conditions are met. The FIA Cost Cap Administration monitors compliance, audits reporting, investigates suspected non-compliance and takes enforcement action. FIA Cost Cap Administration.
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What the exclusions do—and do not—establish
The exclusions define the perimeter used to calculate Relevant Costs; they do not show how much any team actually spends in those categories or how an exclusion affects competitive performance. The regulation describes the cap as limiting certain costs associated with operating a team, while leaving teams free to allocate resources within the cap. For a disputed classification or mixed-use expense, Article D5 and the team’s records matter; a general category description alone does not determine the treatment in an individual case.
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