Christian Horner insists Red Bull are 'not aware' of any budget cap breach as Toto Wolff calls it 'heavyweight' issue
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Published 01/10/2022 at 10:22 GMT
Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are locked in another war of words after reports emerged that Red Bull may have breached the Formula 1 budget cap in 2021. Given Max Verstappen only won the world title on the final lap in Abu Dhabi – and in hugely controversial circumstances too – the FIA’s announcement next week is expected to garner huge attention.
Christian Horner
Image credit: Getty Images
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has insisted he is “not aware” of any budget cap breach after reports circulated suggesting two teams exceeded the spending limit during the 2021 season.
F1 introduced a budget cap for 2021 of $145 million, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff calling any excess spending a “heavyweight issue”.
Max Verstappen won the drivers’ title on the last lap of the final race in Abu Dhabi as Lewis Hamilton was cruelly denied a record eighth crown.
Overspends carry a range of sanctions – graded as minor (less than 5% over budget) and major (more than 5% over budget) – including points deductions, race suspensions and even exclusion from the championship.
"We are certainly not aware of any [breaches]," Horner, who also described the regulations as “immature”, told Sky Sports at the Singapore Grand Prix.
"The accounts were all submitted way back in March, so it's been a long process with the FIA going through, and we are in that process as we speak.
"They are rightly following that process and I think mid-next week is when they declare their certificates.
"Certainly our submission was below the cap and it's down to the FIA to follow their process, which they are currently doing."
Horner’s comments came shortly after the FIA released a statement about potential rule breaches.
"The FIA is currently finalising the assessment of the 2021 financial data submitted by all Formula 1 teams,” it read.
“Alleged breaches of the Financial Regulations, if any, will be dealt with according to the formal process set out in the regulations."
Wolff claimed that an overspend in 2021 could help in future seasons and suggested that if Red Bull were found guilty and got off lightly, all teams would stretch the rules.
"The crucial part is that if you have been over in 2021, then you've been over in 2022 and that means you have an advantage into 2023,” he said.
“If it's true that they formulated a lightweight chassis this year, they may use it the next year, so it's really a cascade of events that can be influential on all of the three championships.
"This is heavyweight, it's massively heavyweight.
"We are using used parts, we are not running what we want to run, we are not developing what we could be developing.
"We have made more than 40 people redundant that are dearly missed in our organisation and it was a huge, mammoth operation to make the cap.
"I don't know how many tens of millions we had to restructure and reprocess in order to be below the cap and if someone has been not doing that or pushing the boundaries, every million is a massive disadvantage.
"Even if it's the so-called minor breach that can be below five per cent, you can spend seven million more than everybody else, and that means if this is a light penalty, we will all be pushing those five per cent more going forward."
Wolff’s comments appeared to force the FIA to release a second statement, which added: "The FIA notes significant and unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture in relation to this matter, and reiterates that the assessment is ongoing and due process will be followed without consideration to any external discussion."
An official announcement is expected on October 5.
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