Penalty not yet known
The FIA has announced which Formula 1 teams stayed under the budget cap last year. Red Bull appears to be the only team to have gone over the maximum budget in 2021. This is a ‘small overrun’.
While Max Verstappen’s fans are still reminiscing about the Japanese GP, in which Verstappen took his second world title, many other eyes are focused on another exciting denouement. Today, the FIA will make a statement about the budget cap for 2021. According to the teams of Mercedes and Ferrari, Red Bull has not adhered to this and that could have major consequences. Even Max Verstappen’s first world title could still be in danger.
The statement from the FIA shows that Red Bull, as the only team, has indeed not stayed under the budget cap. At Aston Martin there is said to have been a mistake in the procedure, although that team, like all other teams except Red Bull, has remained under the maximum budget. It is not yet clear how much Red Bull was exactly above the allowed budget in 2021. The FIA speaks of a ‘small overrun’. This is the case if it is less than 5 percent above the budget ceiling.
A fine and/or a small sporting penalty could be lurking in the event of a small violation. The latter could make it exciting for Verstappen, because if, for example, driver points were deleted, his first world title may still be in danger. However, that would make the punishment anything but ‘small’. There is therefore a good chance that it will not run that smoothly. According to the usually well-informed F1 journalist Erik van Haren, it is expected to result in a fine and the excess would not be due to an excess of costs for the development of the car, but for peripheral matters such as ‘catering and absenteeism due to illness’. More details are now awaited and the FIA Cost Cap Administration will now determine what further action to take.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl