What are the potential penalties that Red Bull faces for breaching $145 Million budget cap?

The Red Bull F1 team has been found guilty of breaching the 2021 budget cap by the FIA although only by a small margin. 

The FIA has found the Red Bull F1 team and Aston Martin in breach of the 2021 budget cap of $145 Million. The report was due to be published by last Wednesday but was delayed.

While the breach in the case of Red Bull has been found to be a Minor Overspend Offense, Aston Martin has only been found guilty of some procedural violation.

The statement that FIA released did not reveal the amount of breach for Red Bull however it is known that a minor overspending violation is within 5% of the $145 Million cap.

Also Read: How much Max Verstappen will get for winning F1 title for second time?

Potential penalties for Red Bull

The FIA has not yet decided the consequences that the Milton-Keynes-based team would face for breaching the cost cap.

Earlier in the season, the Williams F1 team was penalised $25,000 for missing the deadline for submitting some documents to the FIA. This violation fell under the procedural breach.

Going forward, as the breach by Red Bull has been declared ‘minor’, the sanctions for the team range from a fine to ultimate disqualification from the 2021 season which is highly unlikely.

The potential penalties are:

1. A fine – the most basic punishment would be to slap the team with a fine.
2. The FIA can issue a public reprimand against the team.
3. The team can face a reduction in their constructors’ championship points.
4. The drivers can suffer a reduction in their drivers’ championship points.
5. The teams can be suspended from participating on a weekend (excluding the race).
6. The aerodynamics testing capabilities of the team can be reduced.
7. The FIA can reduce the cost cap in the future for the team in violation.

Also Read: Haas F1 team launches latest $35 merch line for all Guenther Steiner fans

What was Red Bull’s reaction to the findings?

The team, when found out about the violation, issued a statement saying that it was surprised by the audit report of the FIA.

They believe that their submission was below the cost cap and will hence go through the report carefully to come to a conclusion.

Apart from the violation of the cost cap, the Austrian team has also been found guilty of procedural errors.

On top of this, Erik van Haren, a De Telegraaf journalist has revealed that as per multiple sources the breach was about $1-2 Million and this was not used for the development of RB16 or RB18 but for catering purposes and sick leaves.

Also Read: Confused F1 drivers continued racing even after chequered flag was shown at 2022 Japanese GP