F1 budget cap: FIA offer Red Bull ‘accepted breach agreement’ ahead of United States Grand Prix – Reports
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Updated 21/10/2022 at 15:40 GMT
Red Bull have been offered an “accepted breach agreement” by the FIA according to multiple reports. It’s understood the two parties may come to an agreement after Red Bull were deemed to be in minor breach of the budget cap regulations for the 2021 Formula 1 season. If an agreement isn’t made, the saga will run on into November and possibly beyond.
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The FIA have offered terms of an “accepted breach agreement” to Red Bull after confirmation of the Milton Keynes-based outfit’s breach of Formula 1’s budget cap.
According to multiple reports, the two parties may come to an agreement during this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Red Bull were found to have overspent on F1’s budget cap last year, which has been deemed a minor breach by the FIA.
It means they could have spent up to $7.25million more than the regulations state, although it’s understood the figure is around the $2m mark.
Catering and staffing costs that come under the budget cap appear to be the biggest issues regards to Red Bull’s overspending from last year.
Team principal Christian Horner was expected to speak to the media on Friday morning in Austin, but that was postponed as Red Bull and the FIA continue talks.
An agreement in the coming days would mean Red Bull accept they were in breach of the budget cap regulations, but would likely receive a lighter punishment such as a reprimand and/or financial penalty.
A points deduction from the 2021 or 2022 championships would be unlikely, so Max Verstappen would keep both of his titles and Red Bull there second place from last year’s constructors’ championship and there all-but-confirmed crown this year.
Several team bosses and drivers have called for the FIA to award big penalties to Red Bull.
One reason for this is that this is the first time F1’s budget cap rules have been tested, so the governing body should set a harsh precedent so other teams are not tempted to breach the rules in the future.
Lewis Hamilton, who narrowly lost last year’s title to Verstappen in already controversial circumstances on the last lap of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, declared Red Bull must not escape with a “slap on the wrist”.
“I've heard the things that have been said,” Hamilton told the press. “I'm generally looking forwards. I'm looking at how I can win another championship.
“I have my own opinions of what we did as a team and how we did it last year and I'm really proud of that.
“I do think that sport needs to do something about this in the future otherwise, if they relax with these rules, then all the teams would just go over, spending millions more and then only having a slap on the wrist, is obviously not going be great for the sport.
“They might as well not have a cost cap in the future.”
McLaren CEO Zak brown sent a letter directly to the FIA, stating that a breach of the budget cap “constitutes cheating”.
“The overspend breach, and possibly the procedural breaches, constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations,” said Brown.
"The FIA has run an extremely thorough, collaborative and open process. We have even been given a one-year dress rehearsal (in 2020), with ample opportunity to seek any clarification if details were unclear. So, there is no reason for any team to now say they are surprised.
"The bottom line is any team who has overspent has gained an unfair advantage both in the current and following year's car development.
"We don't feel a financial penalty alone would be a suitable penalty for an overspend breach or a serious procedural breach. There clearly needs to be a sporting penalty in these instances, as determined by the FIA.
"We suggest that the overspend should be penalised by way of a reduction to the team's cost cap in the year following the ruling, and the penalty should be equal to the overspend plus a further fine - i.e. an overspend of $2m in 2021, which is identified in 2022, would result in a $4m deduction in 2023 ($2m to offset the overspend plus $2m fine).
"For context, $2m is (a) 25-50% upgrade to (an) annual car-development budget and hence would have a significant positive and long-lasting benefit.
"In addition, we believe there should be minor overspend sporting penalties of a 20% reduction in CFD and wind tunnel time. These should be enforced in the following year, to mitigate against the unfair advantage the team has and will continue to benefit from.”
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