FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem believes that the penalty against Red Bull in this year’s budget cap dispute was handled fairly, although rivals called for “blood”.
Red Bull was found guilty in October of violating the cost cap last year. The team was fined $7 million and received a 10 percent reduction in wind tunnel time as punishment.
Many of Red Bull’s competitors had called for far tougher sanctions, but Sulayem believes the FIA has handled the matter correctly, especially as cost cap rules are still in their infancy.
Sulayem: We don’t want to get rid of Red Bull either
“We’ve learned a lot and we’re going to reconsider the whole thing,” he says when asked if he thinks the penalty for the cost cap is enough of a deterrent. “In the first year, who knows what the result will be? We didn’t even expect it.”
“If you look at the other teams, they’ll say we love them [Red Bull] have spared. As for punishment, some of them want to be hanged and they want to see blood. And the [schuldigen] Teams themselves see the penalty as very high.”
“So where do you draw the line? I mean, we have to be fair too. Do we want to get rid of them or do we want them to stand up and not do it.”
Sulayem confirms: Decisions should come more quickly
One aspect Sulayem would like to see better managed over the next year is the timing of cost recovery investigations – he doesn’t think it is ideal if the matter drags on until late in the year.
“The only thing I would say is that what we did in September/October should be done earlier,” he says. “But since it was the first year, we learned a lot from it. And we’re still learning. So it’s better to come in May, not October.”
Sulayem also pointed out that the FIA has increased its staff to better oversee financial regulations and other areas. This could mean that the verification time is reduced anyway.
“The financial regulations were the first year, it is very difficult to monitor them,” he adds. “And that’s why we also talked about employees: three more in the finance area, three more in the chassis and in the drive unit. So there are more recruitments to come.”
“If you don’t have the manpower and the right people to oversee it, what’s the use of this regulation? I think there’s a balance between the finances and also the sporting penalties.”