There is never a day without controversy in Formula 1, with Friday having been yet further proof of that ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix.
Following on from their announcement the day after the Japanese Grand Prix that Red Bull had breached the budget cap, the FIA finally informed the world on what their punishment would be.
After being deemed to have gone over the $145 million budget by $2.2 million, the Austrians have been slapped with a $7 million fine and a 10-percent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research.
Interestingly, it actually appears that the fine won’t have to come out of the team’s current budget, meaning that for a company the size of Red Bull, the fine shouldn’t be an issue.
READ: Sebastian Vettel makes retirement admission after being urged to stay in F1
Some have questioned if the punishment is harsh enough; however, the aerodynamic penalty is greater than some fans perceive to believe.
Ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok revealed on Twitter that the aerodynamic reduction will have a “big impact”, with the side already set to receive less wind tunnel time than any other team on the grid.
“The financial penalty to Red Bull might appear light to many…” Chandhok wrote on Twitter.
“However losing 10% of windtunnel time will mean that if everyone finishes in the same order as they are in now, they will have 12% less than Ferrari, 17% less than Mercedes for next year. That will have a big impact.”
With some believing that the penalty isn’t harsh enough, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been urged on social media to purposefully exceed the cap next season and take a “minor penalty”.
Prior to the punishment announcement, Wolff had said that the Germans would exceed the cap in 2023 on purpose if the penalty wasn’t up to their standards, something which is yet to be heard by the Austrian.
Ferrari have already shared their disapproval at the penalty, as have others, leading to the suspicion that Mercedes too won’t be happy with what’s been awarded.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner informed the media after the announcement that he believes the penalty is too harsh, and that the aerodynamic reduction could see them lose up to half a second per lap.
READ: Guenther Steiner makes bold claim as Haas seek to score podiums
Regardless of that, well-followed Mercedes fan Jordan who boasts over 30 thousand followers, has insisted that Wolff breaches the cap next season to get back to the front.
“I’m not Toto, but if I were Toto, having heard that, I would be immediately signing off an extra £7 million next year in R&D to correct W14,” he wrote.
“Commit minor breach, get aerodynamic baseline right which will keep you in a solid position for the ground effect era. Take minor penalty.”