Red Bull hit back after FIA find them guilty of "minor" breach of F1 cost cap

An FIA review into F1 teams’ spending figures confirmed paddock speculation that Red Bull had broken last season’s $145m budget cap. 

The exact amount of Red Bull’s “minor overspend” has not been disclosed by F1’s governing body, but it is less than five per cent - which equates to $7.25m.

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Red Bull and Aston Martin were found guilty of a procedural breach of the cap but every team aside from Red Bull fell within the spending limit. 

Williams complied with the financial regulations with the exception of a previous procedural breach which the FIA says was “remediated in a timely, cooperate and transparent manner”. 

As a result, the FIA has subsequently issued certificates of compliance to seven teams; Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Alpine, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas. 

Last season ended with Max Verstappen edging Lewis Hamilton for the championship at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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The process of determining what penalties should be applied has not yet been completed. 

An FIA statement read: "The review of the Reporting Documentation submitted has been an intensive and thorough process, and all Competitors gave their full support in providing the required information to assess their financial situation during this first year of the Financial Regulations. The FIA Cost Cap Administration notes that all Competitors acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and cooperation throughout the process.

"The FIA would also note that with respect to this first year of the application of the Financial Regulations the intervention of the FIA Cost Cap Administration has been limited to reviewing the submissions made by the Competitors and that no full formal investigations were launched.

"The FIA Cost Cap Administration is currently determining the appropriate course of action to be taken under the Financial Regulations with respect to Aston Martin and Red Bull and further information will be communicated in compliance with the Regulations."

Red Bull commented: “We note the findings by the FIA of ‘minor overspend breaches of the financial regulations’ with surprise and disappointment.

“Our 2021 submission was below the cost cap limit, so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.

“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”

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