Double Formula 1 world champion Mika Hakkinen does not believe any team will be willing to break cost cap rules after Red Bull were slapped with a "significant" punishment.
Red Bull overspent during the 2021 season, and agreed not to fight the penalty imposed by the FIA. The team was fined £6m and will lose 10% of their aerodynamic testing time over the next 12 months as punishment for breaching budget cap regulations.
The punishment divided opinion among others, as some felt justice had been served and other worried that it might not be enough to prevent others from willingly breaking the rules in the future now a precedent has been set. Asked for his opinion by Mirror Sport, team boss Christian Horner said it is "a strong deterrent", adding : "Anyone who diminishes that penalty doesn't know what they're talking about."
Reacting to the punishment, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff explained that the threat of reputational damage would be enough to deter his team from willingly overspending. "Whatever team you are, you're responsible for representing a brand, your employees and your partners, and that's why for us it wouldn't be [something they would do]," said the Austrian.
That point of view has been backed up by Hakkinen, who feels the cost cap rules still have teeth. "The first thing to say is that I am glad this matter is now closed and the FIA's penalty accepted by Red Bull," the Finn wrote in his Unibet column.
"With technical and sporting regulations you generally have a clear decision, for example if the car is under the weight limit or a driver goes outside the track limits, but with the financial regulations there was always likely to be a grey area.
"I think that is why everyone accepted two levels to breaking the budget cap – a minor or major overspend. The FIA recognised that there could be various levels of overspend and reasons for doing so. Red Bull's penalty for the minor overspend is still significant. Far more than the financial or aerodynamic penalty, it has been an uncomfortable experience for the team.
"The good thing is that no team will want to risk repeating this next year, so although it has been a very difficult and controversial moment for Red Bull, I believe it will benefit F1 in the long term because every team boss will be determined not to have this kind of negative publicity in future."
Speaking about the criticism he and his team faced in the wake of the cost cap breach, Horner explained: "We have taken a public pounding from the accusations that other teams have made. We've had our drivers booed at circuits. The reputational damage has been significant and the time for that to stop is now and move on."
