From the start of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, one news circulated heavily throughout the F1 paddock: Red Bull had breached the F1 budget-cap rules for the 2021 season. The FIA introduced a budget cap at the start of the 2021 season where no team was allowed to spend more than $145M on developing their car. The driver salaries, marketing costs, legal team fees, and logistic fees were not subjected to cost-cap rules by the governing body. Many teams accused Red Bull of going $5M-$10M over budget.
Mercedes’s team Principal Toto Wolff had been very vocal in his accusations toward the Red Bull team. He said that going over budget with this large amount would mean that the 2021 Red Bull car would have gained almost 0.5s worth of advantage over its rivals. All 10 Formula 1 teams were required to submit complete documentation to FIA Cost Cap Administration of their spending in the 2021 season on 31 March 2022.
While the details of the submitted documents were kept confidential, rumors started to flow around before the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that the Red Bull F1 team may have gone over the budget in developing their 2021 F1 car. The FIA has conducted its investigations and will announce its verdict on 5 October for this matter.
Table of Contents
Penalties for breaching the 2021 budget cap
Minor (Exceeding the limit by less than 5% of $145M)
- Deduction of Driver’s and Constructor’s championship points.
- Suspension for one or more races.
- Limitations on ability to conduct different performance tests on cars.
- Reduction in the amount of next year’s budget.
Minor (Exceeding the limit by less than 5% of $145M)
- Deduction of Driver’s and Constructor’s championship points.
- Suspension for one or more races.
- Suspension from the entire F1 season.
- Limitations on ability to conduct different performance tests on cars.
- Exclusion from Drivers and Constructors championship.
- Reduction in the amount of next year’s budget.
So, if Red Bull is found guilty of violating the budget cap rules, in that case, there is a possibility that they may see Max Verstappen losing his 2021 world driver championship title, though this scenario seems highly unlikely.
Red Bull’s response
Red Bull has categorically denied any wrongdoing regarding the breach of the F1 budget cap. Moreover, they have accused its rivals of tarnishing the image of Red Bull in front of the racing world. In responding to the accusations in front of the media, Christian Horner said that the financial submission made to the FIA was confidential.
There is no way rival teams could know the outcome, as Red Bull hasn’t been informed of any wrongdoings by the FIA. He also accused Mercedes and Ferrari of spreading false rumors to distract the championship leader Max Verstappen. Lastly, he warned others that there would be severe legal consequences if their rival claims proved wrong.
FIA’s statement on the matter
The FIA has said that they are pursuing all possible avenues regarding the investigation of the matter and would not base their decision on outside rumors or speculations. They will announce their findings on 5 October regarding this matter.
