Red Bull might appeal FIA ruling as Max Verstappen faces penalty

Red Bull were found guilty of a minor breach of the 2021 financial regulations on Monday.

Red Bull have stated their public disagreement with the FIA’s verdict that the Austrian side overspent on last year’s budget cap.

Max Verstappen’s championship victory in 2021 was already controversial after the infamous Safety Car restart conducted by now former race director, Michael Masi.

But just as the world of Formula 1 was starting to move on from that, suspicions of breaches of the financial regulations cropped up.

A recent report indicated that Red Bull and Aston Martin had overspent on last year’s $145 million budget limit, with the former suspected of going over by $10 million.

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This would constitute a material breach, as it is more than five percent over the limit, but the FIA confirmed that Red Bull had committed a minor one.

Catering and sick pay are thought to be large contributing factors, and the Milton Keynes-based outfit are rumoured to have gone over by around $2 million.

However, Red Bull have refuted this, and stated their calculations differ from those made by the governing body. 

“We note the findings by the FIA of ‘minor overspend breaches of the financial regulations’ with surprise and disappointment,” they said.

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“Our 2021 submission was below the cost cap limit, so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.”

The team hit out at other teams’ accusatory comments over the last couple of weeks.

READ: Revealed: Surprising reason for Red Bull cost cap breach

“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us,” continued the four-time champions.

Aston Martin were found guilty of a procedural breach on Monday after errors were found in their paperwork.

Formula1news.co.uk has contacted the British side for a comment on the governing body’s findings.