(Motorsport) Formula 1’s governing body the FIA have handed Red Bull Racing a $7m fine and restrictions on car development for breaching the cost cap for the 2021 season. The verdict comes after weeks of speculation and criticism from rival teams as Red Bull exceeded the $145m limit for the 2021 season in which Max Verstappen won his first World Championship. Red Bull Racing reached an 'accepted breach agreement' with the FIA which meant that the team admitted to wrongdoing after exceeding the budget by $2.2m.
A statement released by the FIA read “There is no accusation or evidence that Red Bull has sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in a fraudulent manner, nor has it wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration.” Along with the $7m fine, Red Bull Racing will also have a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time over the next 12 months. As per the penalty, Red Bull will now have 25 runs in the wind tunnel next season instead of 28 while Scuderia Ferrari will have 30 (if they finish 2nd in the Constructors Championship) and Mercedes with 32 (if they finish third). The last team in the Constructors Standings will have 42 runs.
Speaking after the verdict, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said “We could have been looking at a 12-month period to have this situation closed. The amount of speculation, commenting and sniping that has been going on in the paddock, we felt that it was in everybody's interest – our interest, the FIA's interest, in F1's interest – to say, 'we close the book', and we close the book here and today. We accept the penalties, begrudgingly, but we accept them. The more draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10 per cent reduction in our ability to utilise our wind tunnel and aerodynamic tools.
“I've heard people reporting today that it's an insignificant amount. Let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount. That represents anywhere between a quarter and half a second of a lap. That 10 per cent will have an impact on our ability to perform on track. I think that we're probably due an apology from some of our rivals for some of the claims that they've made. We make no apology for the way that we've performed, the way that we've acted. We do take it on the chin that there are lessons to be learned, and potentially mistakes have been made in our submission, which with the benefit of hindsight and 20-20 vision, everybody can be a specialist. But there was no intent, there was nothing dishonest, and there was certainly no cheating involved, which has been alleged in certain corners. So I don't feel that we need to apologise.
"We've taken our pounding in public, we've taken a very public pounding through the accusations that have been made by other teams. We've had our drivers booed at circuits, and the reputational damage that's been made by allegations has been significant. The time is now for that to stop and move on. It's a handicap. We are going to have to work incredibly hard. It gives an advantage to our competitors, which is why they were pushing so hard for a draconian penalty. We're going to have to be efficient with our time, and with the runs we choose to do in our wind tunnel.
“I have full belief in the capability of our team, I think they've demonstrated that time and time again. There were other sporting penalties available to the FIA, but this one was obviously lobbied hard for by our competitors because they felt it would hit us the hardest. I'm sure for them it won't be enough. I'm sure if you burnt our wind tunnel down, it wouldn't be enough. But this is a penalty that the FIA, after an awful lot of dialogue with them, they know the impact it has on us. We might have lost 10 per cent in ATR (wind tunnel time), but I think we've gained 25 per cent in motivation from every single staff member in Milton Keynes."
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