Sky Italy commentator, Carlo Vanzini, made a joke about Red Bull’s budget after Max Verstappen was forced to pit due to fuel issues late on in qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Heading into the weekend, Red Bull and Aston Martin were mentioned in a report that suggested that two teams were in breach of the financial regulations last season.
A spending limit of $145 million was imposed on the teams last season for them to spend on the cars, in a bid to stop the bigger teams from gaining an advantage due to the copious resources they have compared with the smaller crews.
Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, indicated that the Austrian side had exceeded last year’s budget by more than five percent, putting them in material breach of the financial regulations.
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This could see them excluded from the 2021 championship if the rumours turn out to be true, although there is no evidence that they are.
Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, called the allegations “fictitious,” and there are now reports that he is considering legal action against the accusers.
In qualifying on Saturday, Verstappen was improving at the end of Q3, and depending on the outcome of his final sector, might have found himself in the battle for pole position.
However, the Dutchman was told to abort that run, because the team had not fuelled his car sufficiently.
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The 25-year-old might have had enough fuel to finish the lap and come back round to the pits, but there needs to be a litre of it remaining for the scrutineers to take a sample.
At last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel was disqualified from the race when his Aston Martin came back to parc ferme with insufficient fuel left in the tank.
Verstappen will start the race eighth as a result of Red Bull’s woes, and Vanzini quipped that the Milton Keynes-based team are “out of budget for fuel.”