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Red Bull chief Christian Horner calls for investigation into ‘hugely concerning’ leak over breaching their budget cap after being fined £6million… as he says allegations from their rivals were ‘extremely disturbing’ for it team
- Red Bull fined £6million by F1 bosses after minor breach of cost cap
- They appeared to have exceeded the limit during last season’s title win
- News of the breach was leaked over Singapore Grand Prix weekend
- Red Bull was officially told they had exceeded the limit after the next race
- Christian Horner has called for an investigation into why there was a leak
Christian Horner has called for an investigation into why news of Red Bull’s budget cap had been leaked before the FIA confirmed they were investigating the matter.
Red Bull was found guilty of committing a minor violation of Formula 1’s financial rules for the 2021 season – a year in which Max Verstappen controversially teased Lewis Hamilton to win his first championship.
The team was fined $7 million (£6 million) and a 10% reduction in allowable aerodynamic development over the next 12 months
Christian Horner wants to know why news of Red Bull’s budget cap overrun was leaked over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend before the FIA released a public notice on the matter
Max Verstappen kept his title for 2021, although Red Bull was fined £6million and a 10% reduction in their aerodynamic development the following year after accepting the offence.
Horner wants to know why news of the breach leaked out over the weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix, before the team was officially notified 90 minutes after the next race in Japan – and the FIA issued a public notice a day later released.
As reported by MotorsportHorner said: “The allegations in Singapore were extremely disturbing for every staff member, all our partners, everyone involved with Red Bull.
‘Of course any kind of leakage is extremely worrying. It’s something we expect to continue.”
The sanctions Horner called “huge” and “draconian” ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix were imposed by the FIA with Red Bull agreeing to an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA).
An FIA audit of 2021 accounts found Red Bull committed a ‘minor breach’
Horner said Verstappen (pictured) and Sergio Perez have been booed on tracks since the leak
Before that deal was signed, a number of the team’s rivals had called for strong action against the team that has won both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships this season.
Both the Mercedes and Ferrari teams had expressed their opinion that Red Bull should receive a stiff penalty.
McLaren boss Zak Brown, meanwhile, wrote to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 president Stefano Domenicali to say any possible breach of the cost cap is ‘cheating’ – something Horner vehemently came back to ahead of the United States grand prix. States.
Horner said after the FIA’s ruling that he felt Red Bull should “probably have an apology from some of our rivals for the claims they have made”.
He added: ‘We take it upon ourselves that lessons have to be learned. There may have been mistakes in our entry, which with the benefit of hindsight and 20/20 vision, anyone can be a specialist.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the last lap in Abu Dhabi to win his first championship
“But there was no intent, there was nothing dishonest, and there was certainly no deception alleged in certain quarters. So I don’t think we should apologise.
“I think lessons have been learned. Everyone can learn from this. We’ve been beating ourselves in public, we’ve been banging very publicly, because of the accusations made by other teams.
“Our drivers have been booed on circuits. And the reputational damage caused by allegations is significant. It’s time for that to end.’
Red Bull was told about the leak 90 minutes after Verstappen won his second title in Japan
Red Bull’s rivals had called on the team to face tough penalties ahead of sanctions
It was considered a minor offense as it was less than five percent of the limit, or more than £5.7 million.
By signing the ABA, they accepted that they were going over the limit by a total of £1.8m or a 1.6% overage.
Red Bull explained in talks with the FIA that the extra £5.6million of the total they had originally quoted was due to excluded costs covering 13 areas.
These included social security contributions for staff, tuition fees, operating costs of the power sources and a clerical error in the calculation of the costs charged on by Red Bull Powertrains to Red Bull.
An FIA statement stated that if Red Bull had applied the ‘proper treatment’ to their notional tax credit in 2021 they would have exceeded the budget cap by just £432,652.