Red Bull receive penalty for 2021 budget cap breach

The FIA have revealed the penalty handed out to Red Bull after their minor financial breach of the 2021 F1 cost cap

Red Bull have been fined £6.07m ($7m) by the FIA and been given a 10% reduction in car development time for breaching the 2021 Formula 1 budget cap - meaning Max Verstappen will not be stripped of his first world title.

The team have now come to terms with an ‘Accepted Breach Agreement’ (ABA) with the FIA, with the agreed penalty announced on Friday afternoon. The overspend from Red Bull was revealed to be £1.864m, with the FIA acknowledging that the breach would have been £432,652 if a tax credit had been correctly applied.

Red Bull’s fine is not a reduction of their cost cap for this season - set at $135m - while their 10% cut in permitted aerodynamic research relates to time spent using their wind tunnel or computational fluid dynamics to design their car.

Negotiations between Red Bull boss Christian Horner and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem took place last week in Austin but the verdict was delayed after the passing of Red Bull’s founder and co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

Red Bull could have challenged the FIA’s decision, with their case heard by independent judges in the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel, but that ran the risk of a harsher punishment and a potential loss of Championship points. The team are set to hold a press conference in Mexico City at 5:30pm (BST).

The ABA emphasises: “There is no accusation or evidence that RBR [Red Bull Racing] has sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in a fraudulent manner, nor has it wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration.”

Non-complaince of the cap, the statement read, related to 13 different points regarding matters such as Red Bull’s new power unit-business and costs related to catering, inventory (unused parts), social security, apprenticeships and non-F1 activities.

Red Bull exceeded last year’s £114million budget cap in a year when Verstappen controversially beat Lewis Hamilton to the world title on the final lap in Abu Dhabi.

Horner said last week in Austin he was “shocked and appalled” that McLaren boss Zak Brown accused his team of cheating and said the insinuation has led to children of Red Bull staff being bullied at school.

Horner sat alongside Brown in a fiery press conference which centred around the cost cap row which has engulfed Formula One. Last week, Brown wrote to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and said a financial breach “constitutes cheating”.

Red Bull have been fined $6.07m ($7m) by the FIA and been given a 10% reduction in car development time (AFP via Getty Images)

“Obviously Zak’s letter is tremendously disappointing,” said Red Bull team principal Horner.

“For a fellow competitor to accuse you of cheating, and to accuse you of fraudulent activity is shocking. It is absolutely shocking that another competitor, without the facts or without any knowledge of the details, can be making those kind of accusations.

“We have been on trial because of public accusations since the Singapore Grand Prix (on October 2) with the rhetoric of cheating, and the rhetoric that we have had this enormous benefit.

Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 world title by eight points (AFP via Getty Images)

“Numbers have been put out in the media that are miles out of reality and that damages the brand, our partners, our drivers, and our workforce. In an age where mental health is prevalent, we are seeing significant issues within our workforce.

“Kids are being bullied in playgrounds because they are children of Red Bull employees. That is not right and it has come about because of fictious allegations from other teams without any fact or substance.

“We are absolutely appalled at that behaviour. We have been subjected to three weeks of effective abuse. It is just not right and it has to stop.”

Horner sat alongside McLaren CEO Brown in a fiery press conference in Austin, Texas (Getty Images)

The $7m fine has to be paid in the next 30 days.

“We had zero benefit from a development perspective or an operational perspective for 2021 or 2022 from the way we operated within the cap,” concluded Horner in Texas.

“We absolutely and categorically don’t feel we have had any advantage. It is totally fictitious.

“Once this situation has been concluded I will talk you through the reasoning behind our submission and our position, and why we believe there is a contrary position. The whole thing should be transparent. There is going to be no private, secret deal. It will absolutely be above board.”