Fernando Alonso believes that Red Bull won’t suffer any strict consequences; cites Ferrari as an example of escaping punishment.
2-time world champion Fernando Alonso thinks Red Bull won’t get punished for breaching the $145 Million budget cap. The Spanish driver cited Ferrari’s 2019 controversy as an example of how F1 has been about exploiting the grey areas.
Red Bull was found guilty of breaching the 2021 cost cap by $1.8 Million and thus there have numerous speculations about penalties that the team must suffer.
However, Alonso thinks that different interpretations of rules are what F1 teams have been doing for a long time and it is a classic example of the grey areas. The teams often exploit these loopholes and win championships, then others copy the champions.
Ultimately, either the other teams reach the level of performance of the champions or the FIA bans the supposed ‘grey area’ after 1-2 events, the 2-time world champion further explained.
Also Read: FIA propose Wind Tunnel time punishment to Red Bull for $1.8 Million Budget cap breach
What is the 2019 Ferrari controversy?
In the 2019 championship season, Ferrari came to the grid with a power unit that was matching Mercedes’ level of performance.
The rivals thus started questioning the legality of the Scuderia and accused the Italian giants of finding a way around the regulations set by the FIA for the 2019 season. It seemed as though the team is utilising excess fuel than the technical directive allowed.
When the FIA investigated Ferrari in 2019 it was a quick investigation and punishment dished out. You’re telling me it’s easier to find some fuel meter trickery than it is to look at a balance sheet and say “Hey that’s more than 145 million!” ? This whole sport stinks
— Luke 🆑 📠 (@ElPredestinato) October 5, 2022
The Red Bull team at that time had taken the step forward to lodge a complaint regarding the legality of Ferrari’s PU. Following this, the FIA issued an investigation and found that Scuderia’s power unit was neither legal nor illegal.
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton fed up with “stiff” W13
Did the Scuderia suffer the consequences of the scandal?
However, months after the investigation, it was reported that Ferrari and the FIA have reached a secret agreement, which was later leaked by a former driver turned steward, Mika Salo.
Salo revealed that for Ferrari’s cheating scandal in 2019, the FIA had punished the team by asking them to use less fuel, which also had a drastic impact on the Scuderia’s customer teams.
In the 2020 season, Ferrari experienced the worst result in its history after finishing P6 in the championship standings. Meanwhile, the customer teams – Haas and Alfa Romeo stood at P9 and P8 respectively.
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