The weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix has been full of rumors about the possibility that two F1 teams have exceeded the budget limit of 145 million dollars (then about 125 million euros) from last year and face tough competition. sanctions.
Confirmation of what really happened will come this Wednesday, when the FIA reveals which teams complied with the cost cap rules in 2021.
Teams that go over the limit, whether slightly or materially, will know they will likely face a hearing where penalties will be imposed.
The spotlight of possible rule breaches has been on Aston Martin and Red Bull, although both teams have made it clear they have done nothing wrong.
Red Bull was especially in the eye of the hurricane, since rumors suggest that they exceeded the limit by more than 10 million dollars (10.2 million euros in exchange), and their rivals, Mercedes and Ferrari, asked the FIA a harsh punishment.
But despite what its main rivals say, Red Bull is sticking to its original spending proposal, submitted in March, which, according to multiple sources, was within the cap and in fact several million dollars under.
Asked by Motorsport.com if he was nervous about Wednesday’s result, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “No, I mean I have absolute confidence in our presentation.”
“It’s been through a process. It was in March, when it was fully signed off by our auditors, who are obviously the big guys. And we think we’re comfortably within the limit.”
“So the FIA is following their process. We hope this week to hear, not just from us, but from all the teams, the outcome of that process.”
Although Red Bull does not know what the FIA will say on Wednesday, it admits that the governing body has a great responsibility to ensure the soundness of its investigations and responses.
“This is a whole new set of rules that are very complicated and apply to companies of different structures, different formulations and, of course, regulations,” he said.
“There are always different interpretations of those regulations. So in the first year it will be very interesting to see how it is applied.”
“We’ve seen clarifications, even since the proposals were tabled, applying to last year. So there’s always going to be a process of evolution.”
“It’s a huge issue for the FIA to get control of, especially when you look at the scale of the teams in the pitlane, many of which belong to even larger conglomerates and organisations.
Asked if these recent clarifications about what should and should not be included in the cost cap had kept Red Bull under the cap, Horner replied: “We are significantly under. And with the clarifications, we should be even lower…
Horner was upset by references other teams made about his team during the Singapore GP weekend, going so far as to suggest that his comments were “defamatory”.
He made it clear that if certain comments were not withdrawn, Red Bull would consider taking legal action, a stance that remains despite no response so far from other parties.
Horner added: “What I said absolutely stands. We will look at all of our options. And it is totally unacceptable to make a completely baseless allegation. And based on what knowledge? Where is the source of the information?”
“This is a confidential filing between the team and the FIA. I have no idea of the compliance of any of our rivals. So where does that information supposedly come from?”
He added: “But we are going to complete the process. We have not been informed that we are breaking the regulations. So let us get to the end of the process and understand where we are.”
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