F1's top teams fear cost cap penalties and 'accounting championship'

Formula 1's top teams Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes all believe they are at risk of penalties for going over the sport's budget cap this season, with Christian Horner calling for the FIA to act quickly to avoid an "accounting world championship".

All F1 teams have a cost cap of $140m (£119m) for 2022 - with the limit intended to improve competition - but a dramatic rise in inflation and freight costs has put teams' budgets under unexpected strains.

That has led to Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, the sport's biggest and currently most competitive teams, all stressing that the budget cap to be increased due to the "force majeure" circumstances.

However, there is opposition on the grid - such as from Alfa Romeo and Alpine, who see no reason to up the cap.

"At the time we all agreed to those reductions, nobody could have predicted what was going on in the world and how that is driving inflation in every household globally," Red Bull team principal Horner told Sky Sports F1.

"We're seeing it in Formula 1, we're seeing it with logistics, we're seeing it with energy costs. That to me is something the FIA need to take into account.

"They have the ability through force majeure to apply an inflationary effect because we don't have enough levers to get down to the cap. I think that's the same for probably seven of the teams in Formula 1.

"We've still got six months left this year, inflation still looks like it's rising rather than diminishing, and hopefully the FIA will act shortly."

Agreeing with his rival team boss, Ferrari's Mattia Binotto added: "I think that there will be no way for us to stay below. So, I'm pretty sure that at some stage we will go over.

"In the regulations, there is a threshold, which is a 5 per cent. If