Red Bull are understood to have accepted an agreement with the FIA over their breach of the Formula One cost cap. The team will make a formal statement on Friday at the Mexican Grand Prix but are believed to have agreed to what is known as an “accepted breach agreement”, which acknowledges they had exceeded the cap and will accept the penalty imposed by the FIA.
Red Bull’s spending in 2021, believed to be around £1.8m over the cap of £114m, was deemed a minor breach and not sufficient for a penalty that would have had an impact on last year’s world championship, narrowly won by the team’s Max Verstappen over Lewis Hamilton.
Their penalty is expected to be both financial and sporting, and thus may include some reduction in aerodynamic testing time as well as a potential reduction in their cost cap in future.
Red Bull have maintained they believed they were within the cap when they submitted their accounts but that subsequent rule clarifications pushed them over the limit. However, it appears after talks with the FIA they have come to an agreement to accept the governing body’s ruling.
The outcome will be closely monitored by other teams, who believe Red Bull secured a material advantage from the additional spending. Many of them have called for strong sanction to ensure the budget cap is not broken in future.
Meanwhile in Mexico, Lewis Hamilton indicated he has no intention of leaving F1 in the foreseeable future. The 37-year-old said he was in the process of concluding a further multi-year deal to continue racing with Mercedes after his current contract ends at the end of next season.
“We are going to do another deal. We are going to sit down and discuss it in these next couple of months,” he said. “I am not putting a limit on it, but am planning to do a multi-year contract.”
