The FIA, the governing body of Formula 1, has given the all-clear to the sport’s teams after reviewing their 2023 accounts, confirming that they’ve all managed to keep their spending within the prescribed limits. However, the same cannot be said for Alpine and Honda, who have been caught with their hands in the procedural cookie jar when it comes to power unit regulations. The cost cap, which is about as popular among F1 teams as a vegan at a barbecue, was set at a basic limit of $135 million for the 2023 season.

Picture this: Alpine F1, a team so spectacularly underwhelming this Formula 1 season that their performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix sent shockwaves of absolutely no surprise whatsoever across the motorsport world. Why? Because their tech leadership, in a plot twist seen from miles away, decided to abandon ship faster than rats on the Titanic. Techno maestros Matt Harman and Dirk De Beer bid their adieus even before the tires melted in Bahrain’s scorching humiliation.