Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing / Twitter
After days of intense speculation, the FIA has ruled that Red Bull Racing has been found in breach of Formula 1’s cost cap rules for 2021. Two other teams were also found guilty in Aston Martin Racing and Williams, but only for procedural breaching, whereas Red Bull was said to have both a procedural and a “minor” overspend breach.
A minor breach is said to be less than 5% overspend and penalties can include a public reprimand, a deduction in constructors’ or drivers’ championship points, exclusion from events, limitation of aero testing or simply a fine, reports Motorsport.
As of right now, we don’t know how the FIA will handle these breaches, but you can rest assured that Red Bull are currently very nervous about the situation.
“The FIA Cost Cap Administration is currently determining the appropriate course of action to be taken under the Financial Regulations with respect to Aston Martin and Red Bull and further information will be communicated in compliance with the Regulations,” said the governing body in an official statement.
As far as Aston Martin is concerned, their procedural breach was related to several administrative accounting protocols, whereas Red Bull’s overspending will surely be tackled more diligently. Being lenient on the Milton Keynes-based outfit could send the wrong message to other teams, making them feel as though they don’t need to respect the cost cap anymore.
Meanwhile, Red Bull released the following statement after the findings were made public: “We note the findings by the FIA of ‘minor overspend breaches of the financial regulations’ with surprise and disappointment. Our 2021 submission was below the cost cap limit, so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.”
“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”
While we hope that all the proper measures will be taken to discourage any type of future cost cap breaches, it would also be a shame to see Max Verstappen stripped of his 2021 F1 title, but let’s not get too carried away.
As of right now, we don’t know how the FIA will handle these breaches, but you can rest assured that Red Bull are currently very nervous about the situation.
“The FIA Cost Cap Administration is currently determining the appropriate course of action to be taken under the Financial Regulations with respect to Aston Martin and Red Bull and further information will be communicated in compliance with the Regulations,” said the governing body in an official statement.
As far as Aston Martin is concerned, their procedural breach was related to several administrative accounting protocols, whereas Red Bull’s overspending will surely be tackled more diligently. Being lenient on the Milton Keynes-based outfit could send the wrong message to other teams, making them feel as though they don’t need to respect the cost cap anymore.
Meanwhile, Red Bull released the following statement after the findings were made public: “We note the findings by the FIA of ‘minor overspend breaches of the financial regulations’ with surprise and disappointment. Our 2021 submission was below the cost cap limit, so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.”
“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”
While we hope that all the proper measures will be taken to discourage any type of future cost cap breaches, it would also be a shame to see Max Verstappen stripped of his 2021 F1 title, but let’s not get too carried away.
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