Exceeding the Cost Cap: McLaren must pay 400,000 euros fine after Formula E withdrawal

Just under a year after the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team withdrew from the electric racing series, the British racing team's chapter in Formula E has now ended with a fine: the team has to pay 400,000 euros for exceeding the Cost Cap by 4.54 per cent in its final season. This was announced by the International Automobile Federation FIA on Thursday morning. McLaren's decision to leave Formula E at the end of season 11 is considered to be the cause of the rule breach.

McLaren has signed an "Accepted Breach Agreement" (ABA) with the FIA, in which the team admitted that it had not complied with the Formula E World Championship rules regarding the cost cap in the 2024/25 season. Instead of 12,246,766 GBP (the equivalent of around 14.1 million euros), 12,802,394 GBP (around 14.8 million euros) were spent.

With overspending of 555,628 GBP (approximately 642,000 euros), representing 4.54 per cent of the budget, this is a "minor overspend" according to the regulations. The result: McLaren must pay a fine of 400,000 euros plus the reasonable costs incurred by the Cost Cap Administration in connection with the preparation of the ABA within 30 days. This is the highest fine ever imposed in the history of Formula E.

BREAKING: @McLarenFE has breached the @FIAFormulaE Cost Cap in its final season by 4.54 per cent (~555,000 GBP / ~ 642,000 euros).

The team has to pay a fine of 400.000 euros to the @fia.#FormelE #FormulaE #ABBFormulaE pic.twitter.com/dFxKmASt9m

— Tobias Wirtz (@tobiw_apex) June 4, 2026

FIA: "Overspend arises primarily from costs associated with the wind-down of the team"

"McLaren Formula E Team voluntarily notified the Cost Cap Administration of a minor overspend breach, of 4.54 % of the Cost Cap, prior to any formal investigation," the FIA wrote in a press release. "The Cost Cap AdministraIon recognises that the team have acted cooperatively and in full transparency throughout the process, that the overspend primarily arises from costs associated with the orderly wind-down of the team following the decision to exit the Championship at the conclusion of Season 11, and relates principally to operational matters associated with that process."

"There is no accusaIon or evidence of aggravating factors or that the team has sought at any time to act in bad faith," the FIA added. "In these circumstances, the Cost Cap AdministraIon offered to McLaren Formula E Team an Accepted Breach Agreement to resolve this matter. That offer was accepted by the Competitor."

3rd time a team has exceeded the Cost Cap since its introduction

Since the start of the Gen3 era, teams and manufacturers have been required to keep strict records of their expenditure and adhere to a cost cap set by the FIA. This was originally set at 13 million euros per team and year, based on twelve race weekends. If there are fewer or more race weekends, the budget is adjusted accordingly; inflation is also factored in, meaning that in Season 11, teams were allowed to spend just over 12.2 million GBP (14.1 million euros).

This is the third time that the Formula E cost cap has been exceeded: Jaguar and Nissan spent too much money in season 9 and were fined 100.000 euros (Jaguar) and 300,000 euros (Nissan) and a driving ban for one session during pre-season testing in Valencia 2024. The manufacturer Porsche also had to pay a fine of 50,000 euros for incorrectly submitted expenses without exceeding the cost cap.