We can only imagine the mood that awaits us in the Austin paddock after the verdict of the FIA regarding the violation of the Budget cap of the 2021 season by Aston Martin but above all Red Bull. We are still waiting to find out what these will be worth violazioni, in the case of Red Bull both procedural and minor breach having breached within 5%. The penalty could range from a simple fine to the deduction of championship points. The Circus, however, invokes an exemplary punishment. In particular Ferraris and Mercedes unite in the battle against Red Bull, that supports on the other hand, that he did not derive any benefit from it. Even McLaren has recently exposed itself on the matter, with the words of the CEO Zak Brown, who he declared that he had sent a letter of protest to the FIA which has not yet expressed itself on the scope of the sanction.
Red Bull has violated the integrity of F1
The letter, which bears Brown's signature and is addressed to FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem, was reported in full by the BBC. In the following letter, Brown underlines the guilt of Red Bull, accusing it of having benefited from this situation. A heavy accusation, of a fact that would undermine the very integrity of sport. “Red Bull took unfair advantage in developing this year's and next year's car. The FIA should communicate the resulting actions and penalties for maintain the integrity of F1. The budget cap violation and possibly procedural violations as well they constitute a scam as they offer a significant advantage in terms of technical, sporting and financial regulations.
"The FIA conducted an extremely thorough, collaborative and open process. We were even given a one-year general test (in 2020), with ample opportunity to ask for clarification if the details weren't clear. There is therefore no reason for a team to be surprised. We do not believe that a financial penalty alone is adequate for a violation of the budget cap or for a serious violation of procedures."
Reduction of the budget cap and limitations in the wind tunnel
Brown in the letter calls for Red Bull to have a sporting penalty, also suggesting sanctions.“We suggest that overspending be sanctioned with a reduction of the budget cap of the team in question in the year following the sentence, and that the penalty is equal to the excess spending plus an additional fine. For example, an overspending of $2021 million in 2022, detected in 2023, would result in a deduction of $25 million in 50 ($XNUMX million to offset the overspending plus $XNUMX million in fines). To put it into context, $XNUMX million represents a XNUMX-XNUMX% improvement in the annual development budget for a car and therefore would have a significant positive and lasting benefit. Furthermore, we believe that there should be sporting penalties for small breaches, equal to one 20% reduction in CFD and wind tunnel time. "
A penalty that Red Bull should also serve in the following year to prevent the teams, aware of this mechanism slowed down by bureaucracy, from thinking of exceeding the ceiling by benefiting from a "delayed" penalty.
“These should be applied the following year, to mitigate the unfair advantage the team enjoys and will continue to benefit from. To prevent teams from accumulating and benefiting from the multiplier effect of several minor spending cap violations, we suggest that a second minor violation of the spending cap automatically moves the team to a major violation. Finally, given the financials at stake, a 5% threshold for a minor overspending violation seems too big. We suggest that a lower threshold, equal to 2,5%, is more appropriate".
We need more transparency
As a last point, the McLaren CEO reiterated the need for a regulation as much as possible transparent and clear as possible, especially when it comes to penalties.“It is essential that the budget cap continues to be governed in a highly transparent manner. Both in terms of the details of any violations and related penalties. It will also be important to understand whether, after the first full year of management and investigation, there is a need to further clarify some issues or any key lessons."
"Again, all insights and learnings should be shared across all teams: there can be no room for loopholes. The introduction of the spending cap has been one of the main reasons we have attracted new shareholders and investors to F1 in recent years, who see it as a way to promote financial and sporting fair play. It is therefore vital that we are very firm in implementing the cost cap rules for the integrity and future of F1".
Source statements: FormulaPassion
