“May as well not have a budget cap”: Lewis Hamilton claims if Red Bull isn’t penalized for $145 million breach then better get rid of this rule

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has asked for serious consequences for the Red Bull team for breaching the 2021 budget cap.

Red Bull F1 team came into the spotlight of criticisms after the FIA reported that the team had breached the 2021 budget cap of $145 Million.

While the governing body has deemed the violation a minor breach, the team’s rivals are calling for strict consequences for the team that won the Drivers’ title twice in a row.

The FIA is yet to determine the penalty for the team and has proposed the terms of an Accepted Breach Agreement. If Red Bull accepts the terms of the agreement, the team will have to agree to the penalties and sanctions that come with it.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said that if the team escapes without serious punishment, the sport might not as well have the budget cap.

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What is the Accepted Breach Agreement proposed to Red Bull?

After being found guilty of breaching the 2021 budget cap, the Red Bull F1 team said that it would carefully review the findings of the FIA. The team also stated that it would follow the process underlined in the financial regulations and consider all the options available.

As part of these processes, the FIA has now proposed an Accepted Breach Agreement to the team. This agreement is presented in cases of both procedural breach and minor overspending breach.

The ABA allows penalties such as – a public reprimand, suspension from one or more competitions excluding the main race, and pause on the aerodynamic development and other tests.

If Red Bull agrees to the proposed ABA, the team will also have to admit that it committed a breach and accept whatever penalties come with it.

On top of this, any further procedures required would also have to be agreed upon and Red Bull would have to bear the costs mentioned in the ABA and would not be able to challenge it.

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Will the team agree to the terms of ABA?

So far, it is unclear if the team is willing to accept the ABA. Nevertheless, the team had planned a press conference at the United States GP to discuss the matter but it has been postponed.

It is suggested that team principal Christian Horner did not get the chance to have talks with the FIA president Mohammed Bin Sulayem and thus has cancelled the press conference.

Furthermore, in case the team does not accept the proposed agreement, the case will be assessed by the cost cap adjudication panel and all sorts of penalties will be on the table.

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