The Singapore Grand Prix weekend was awash with speculation that two F1 teams exceeded last year’s $145m budget cap and could face sanctions from the governing body .
Confirmation of what really happened will come this Wednesday, when the FIA plans to issue teams who were under last year’s cost cap their certificates of compliance.
Any teams that have exceeded the limit, in a minor or material way, will then find that they are likely subject to a hearing at which penalties will be imposed.
Potential rule breaches have centered on Aston Martin and Red Bull, although both teams have been crystal clear that they believe they have done nothing wrong.
Red Bull found itself particularly in the firing line as rumors suggested it could be overrun by $10m – as rivals Mercedes and Ferrari called for tough action and sanctions from the FIA for wrongdoing.
But despite what their main opposition said, Red Bull remain adamant that they are sticking to their original bid made in March – which sources say was in fact under the multi-million dollar limit.
Asked by Autosport if he was nervous about Wednesday’s result, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “No, I’m absolutely confident in our submission.
“It went through a process. It entered, in March, in terms of [being] fully signed by our auditors who are obviously one of the big three. And we believe that we are comfortably within the ceiling.
“So the FIA is following its process. We are hoping, and potentially this week, to hear from not just us, but all the teams, the outcome of that process.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
While Red Bull does not know what the FIA will say on Wednesday, it admits there is a huge responsibility on the governing body to ensure the robustness of its investigations and responses.
“It’s a whole new set of regulations that are very complicated and apply to companies with different structures, different wordings and, of course, regulations,” he said.
“There are always different interpretations of these regulations. So the first year, it will be very interesting to see how it applies.
“We have seen clarifications, even since submissions were made, which apply to last year. So it will always be a process of evolution.
“It’s a huge topic for the FIA, especially when you look at the scale of the teams in the pit lane, many of which belong to even bigger conglomerates and organisations.”
Asked whether these recent clarifications on what should and shouldn’t be included in the cost cap meant Red Bull was still below the limit, Horner replied: “It’s significantly below. With the details, we should be even more below.
Horner was shocked by the reference other teams made about Red Bull over the weekend, even going so far as to suggest their comments were “defamatory”. It was clear that if certain remarks were not withdrawn, Red Bull would consider legal action – a position which remains unchanged despite the lack of response from other parties.
Horner added: “What I said is absolutely valid. We will study all our options. And it is totally unacceptable to make a totally unfounded allegation. And on the basis of what knowledge? Where is the source of information?
“This is a confidential submission between the team and the FIA. I have no idea of the compliance of any of our rivals. So where is this information supposed to come from?”
He added: “But let’s complete the process. We have not been informed that we are in violation of the regulations. So let’s go to the end of the process and understand where we are.
The Singapore Grand Prix weekend was awash with speculation that two F1 teams exceeded last year’s $145m budget cap and could face sanctions from the governing body .
Confirmation of what really happened will come this Wednesday, when the FIA plans to issue teams who were under last year’s cost cap their certificates of compliance.
Any teams that have exceeded the limit, in a minor or material way, will then find that they are likely subject to a hearing at which penalties will be imposed.
Potential rule breaches have centered on Aston Martin and Red Bull, although both teams have been crystal clear that they believe they have done nothing wrong.
Red Bull found itself particularly in the firing line as rumors suggested it could be overrun by $10m – as rivals Mercedes and Ferrari called for tough action and sanctions from the FIA for wrongdoing.
But despite what their main opposition said, Red Bull remain adamant that they are sticking to their original bid made in March – which sources say was in fact under the multi-million dollar limit.
Asked by Autosport if he was nervous about Wednesday’s result, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “No, I’m absolutely confident in our submission.
“It went through a process. It entered, in March, in terms of [being] fully signed by our auditors who are obviously one of the big three. And we believe that we are comfortably within the ceiling.
“So the FIA is following its process. We are hoping, and potentially this week, to hear from not just us, but all the teams, the outcome of that process.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
While Red Bull does not know what the FIA will say on Wednesday, it admits there is a huge responsibility on the governing body to ensure the robustness of its investigations and responses.
“It’s a whole new set of regulations that are very complicated and apply to companies with different structures, different wordings and, of course, regulations,” he said.
“There are always different interpretations of these regulations. So the first year, it will be very interesting to see how it applies.
“We have seen clarifications, even since submissions were made, which apply to last year. So it will always be a process of evolution.
“It’s a huge topic for the FIA, especially when you look at the scale of the teams in the pit lane, many of which belong to even bigger conglomerates and organisations.”
Asked whether these recent clarifications on what should and shouldn’t be included in the cost cap meant Red Bull was still below the limit, Horner replied: “It’s significantly below. With the details, we should be even more below.
Horner was shocked by the reference other teams made about Red Bull over the weekend, even going so far as to suggest their comments were “defamatory”. It was clear that if certain remarks were not withdrawn, Red Bull would consider legal action – a position which remains unchanged despite the lack of response from other parties.
Horner added: “What I said is absolutely valid. We will study all our options. And it is totally unacceptable to make a totally unfounded allegation. And on the basis of what knowledge? Where is the source of information?
“This is a confidential submission between the team and the FIA. I have no idea of the compliance of any of our rivals. So where is this information supposed to come from?”
He added: “But let’s complete the process. We have not been informed that we are in violation of the regulations. So let’s go to the end of the process and understand where we are.