The FIA has fined Team Red Bull €7 million for breaking F1 Financial rules.
F1's regulatory body today confirmed that the team, which carried Max Verstappen to a dramatic championship victory over Lewis Hamilton in 2021, overspent by €2.168m.
As a result of this breach, Red Bull have entered into an 'Accepted Breach Agreement' with the FIA which will also see their aerodynamic testing time reduced by 10 per cent in 2023.
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An FIA statement issued earlier today said, “Red Bull Racing was found to be in breach, however, the Cost Cap Administration recognised that Red Bull Racing has acted cooperatively throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner.
"That this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that RBR has sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in fraudulent manner, nor has it wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration.
“In these circumstances, the Cost Cap Administration offered to RBR an ABA to resolve this matter. That offer was accepted by Red Bull Racing.”
Reports surfaced in the past few weeks which suggested that Red Bull's financial spending was under scrutiny from the FIA. Just last week at the Texas Grand Prix, rival boss Zac Brown of McLaren wrote to FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem to say a financial breach “constitutes cheating”.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner responded to Brown's comments by saying he was “shocked and appalled” by Brown’s accusations of cheating. Ahead of this weekend's Mexico Grand Prix, Horner held a press conference to speak about what these sanctions mean for his team.
“Following the speculation and sniping that has gone on in the paddock, it is in everybody’s interest to close the book here and today," said Horner.
“We accept the penalties, begrudgingly. We take it on the chin. Did we see any on-track performance? No, we did not.”
“We have been provided a significant sporting and financial penalty. The seven million US dollars is an enormous amount of money.
“But the more draconian punishment is the sporting penalty which is a 10 per cent reduction in the use of our wind tunnel.
“Some people have said that is an insignificant penalty. But let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount and represents anything between a quarter of a second to half-a-second in lap time.
“That 10 per cent will have an impact on our ability to perform on track next year.”
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