Toto Wolff and Red Bull boss Christian Horner have gotten themselves involved in the latest war of words amid the budget cap breach row.
During Saturday’s press conference at the United States GP, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner made bold claims about the budget cap breach chaos.
Speaking about Horner’s statements at the press conference, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff sarcastically said that he almost had to squeeze out a tear listening to his rival’s story.
Horner criticised McLaren’s team boss Zak Brown’s leaked letter to the FIA accusing Red Bull of cheating. The Briton said those claims were made without any fact or substance.
“It’s tremendously disappointing for a fellow competitor to be accusing you of cheating”
Christian Horner says “it’s shocking” for Red Bull to be accused of fraudulent activity as he responds to Zak Brown’s letter. pic.twitter.com/r2acWmm9LK
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 22, 2022
The Red Bull boss also insisted that the Milton-Keynes-based team was within the limit of the cap and that such criticism is resulting in the kids of Red Bull’s employees being bullied in the playground.
Also Read: Christian Horner slams Zak Brown for comments regarding by $1.8 Million Budget cap breach
Who is the victim, asks Toto Wolff
In response to his rival’s claims, Wolff further explained the facts stating that 9 out of 10 teams are under the cost cap.
The one team is arguing to have slipped slightly over it with supposed non-performance-related expenditure, which applies to all the other teams as well.
Commenting on the revelation of Red Bull’s excess expenditure occurring due to catering, the Mercedes boss said that his team also thought about how many sandwiches they give people and several other cost pools.
In the case of Red Bull, Wolff is critical that whatever the amount of breach, whether a million or 5, is a cash advantage that can be used in development.
It is a bit like reverse psychology; Who is the victim? asked the Austrian concluding that he believes the victims to be the other 9 teams.
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton demands equal scrutiny against Red Bull for gaining advantage by breaching cost cap
What comes next for the Red Bull team?
The drama around Red Bull’s 2021 budget cap violation took a new turn on Saturday when the Milton-Keynes-based team rejected the FIA’s proposed punishment.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the governing body had proposed an Accepted Breach Agreement to the team including the penalties that will be imposed.
As per AMuS, the said penalty was a 25% deduction in the wind tunnel time for next year and a fine. However, Red Bull has rejected this penalty.
The German media house also revealed that while Horner wants to get clarity soon, he has to communicate everything with the Mateschitz family, the owner of Red Bull.
The reason is that any form of acceptance of guilt will not just harm the image of the Red Bull F1 team but also the entire company.
Also Read: FIA propose Wind Tunnel time punishment to Red Bull for $1.8 Million Budget cap breach
