The verdict on Red Bull’s Cost Cap violation has been reached. The team were handed a $7 Million fine as well as a 10% reduction in its aerodynamic testing allowance for the next 12 months. But Jacques Villeneuve feels the ruling will not make a big difference for the sport.
Villeneuve feels F1 will carry on as it did following McLaren’s $100 Million fine in 2007. The British team were charged with espionage after illicitly acquiring technical data from Ferrari.
But the 1997 F1 champion concluded that “In any case, it’s not cheating.”He added, “Lying about traction control is cheating.”
The Canadian believes irrespective of the ruling by the FIA, Red Bull was the strongest team in the F1 grid. The 2022 title was theirs for the taking, but the punishment by the FIA does not make it far for the other teams.
Red Bull was the strongest team in 2022 says Jacques Villeneuve
With Max Verstappen claiming his 2nd F1 Championship, Red Bull secured its first constructor’s trophy in 9 years. And Jacques Villeneuve feels the team completely deserved the victory after dominating for the entire season.
But the Canadian Former F1 driver feels FIA failed to punish them correctly. He outlined, “What I have trouble with is the FIA now cashing out $7 million. So it has hardly any effect for Red Bull and the other teams don’t get a cent from it.”
Villeneuve feels the reduced Wind tunnel testing will impact Red Bull. Based on the fine, Red Bull will have fewer minutes than Mercedes and Ferrari, their closest rivals.
But this does not give their competitors an advantage if they themselves run into technical issues. And Red Bull can catch up over the course of a season. To Villeneuve proposed, “Just divide that among the teams!”
No clarity in FIA’s ruling
Red Bull was found guilty of a “minor breach” of F1’s $145 Million Budget cap breach. But FIA acknowledged that the team had committed the error due to an accounting mistake and acted in ‘good faith.’
Red Bull overspent by $1.86 Million. But if a tax credit had been correctly applied, it would have resulted in a net overspend of close to $550,000. Other areas involved in the overspend were catering allowances and sick pay for employees.
Jacques Villeneuve claims this added to the ambiguity if the matter. He said, “The ruling and the penalty for Red Bull have not yet clarified to me what is and what is not allowed and what punishment you will receive for it.”
He feels this makes it difficult to judge the severity of the punishment. But Christian Horner has slammed the ruling as “Draconian.”
He claims the 10% reduction will severely impact the on-track performance of the car. And that the $7 Million fine was a big amount for a team to fork out.
