The Red Bull affair and the cost cap is coming to an end. At the traditional press conference for the team managers, scheduled for today at the Circuit of the Americas at 11:30 am (6:30 pm Spanish time), Christian Horner will answer the many questions that have been pending for several weeks.
After the FIA’s decision to grant Red Bull the possibility of a conciliation agreement (called ‘Accepted Infringement Agreement’), the ball is in the team’s court, which will have to decide whether or not to accept the Federation’s proposal International.
At the moment Red Bull does not accept the conditions, and we will probably also have the definitive confirmation this Saturday if Horner decides to bring some clarity to an issue that until now has dragged on with rumors and some half-truths.
The question that still has no answer is that of the sanctions provided by the FIA in case of agreement. And also in that the rumors try to anticipate what will be the official news.
From what has been known in the Austin paddock, Red Bull considers the sanctions proposed by the FIA to be excessive. Horner met on Friday afternoon with Ben Sulayem , president of the Federation, in the last meeting before the press conference scheduled for today. That didn’t sit well in the paddock, as rival teams interpreted the meeting as a last-ditch attempt by Horner to haggle over the FIA and receive a lighter penalty than the one proposed.
According to information collected in Austin, the FIA would have foreseen two sanctions for Red Bull: one technical and one economic. The first refers to the hours of use of the wind tunnel, which by regulation are a maximum of 40 per week for a total of 2,000 over the course of a calendar year, taking into account the two-week vacation break imposed by the regulations in August.
In the case of Red Bull, there is talk of a reduction of 500 hours per year, but it is not yet clear if the measure would be only for the 2023 season or also for the 2024 season.
The economic sanction is a fine, but in that section there are two versions: on the one hand, there is talk of a reduction in the amount of money that they will be able to spend for the 2023 season and on the other, of a fine that would be paid to the FIA.
In the first case, it would have an interesting impact on the 2023 season, taking into account that the amount of the fine will not be less than five million euros. In the second case, it would in fact be almost a pat on the back for Red Bull, and it is the most feared scenario in the paddock, which expects and asks for an exemplary punishment as a message to send for future seasons.
