Lewis Hamilton raises suspicion of teams breaking rules as Mercedes star revives line

Lewis Hamilton is 'worried' that F1 teams are intentionally breaking the rules after Red Bull's budget cap penalty last season. The Mercedes star has admitted there is nothing to stop teams from breaching budget cap regulations as Red Bull were only hit with a small penalty last season.

The seven-time champion pointed out that some teams would "probably" breach the allowance and take a "slap on the wrist" for an added advantage. It comes after reports suggested two or three teams may have exceeded the 2022 allocation just 12 months after Red Bull were caught off guard.

When pushed on the issue ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton said: "Yeah, that's definitely a concern. I mean, it wasn't really a big punishment last time around so there's no real [deterrence].

"There will probably be people who will do it again, and know they're just going to get slapped."

The FIA ​​concluded that Red Bull had exceeded the cost cap after an investigation late last year. The team was hit with a fine as well as a 10% reduction in blower allowance.

However, the punishment has yet to shake the world champion's form, with Red Bull having won every race so far this season. Max Verstappen is currently nearly 100 points clear of Sergio Perez in the Drivers' Championship with the closest non-Red Bull challenger, Fernando Alonso, at 118 points.

However, Hamilton refused to open up about the penalties to be imposed on offenders. He added: "It's not my job to do this. But we have people in place who are supposed to monitor this. But that doesn't surprise me because it wasn't a big penalty before."

Earlier this week suggested that at least three teams may have exceeded the 2022 cost cap limits. Certificates of compliance are expected to be delivered to teams by the end of July and there may be discrepancies.

F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has now suggested that sporting penalties should be imposed on anyone caught off guard. He said: "I would like the sanction to be sporting in the event of an infringement, that is something we have asked for very clearly.

“There are three rules to follow: sporting, technical and financial. Any infringement must be sanctioned by sporting measures. You cannot go in other directions."