Max Verstappen remains Formula 1 World Champion 2021. The world association gave Red Bull the points in the budget dispute, but still punished the team.
The trouble about Red Bull spending too much last year is off the table, nothing will change in the 2021 World Cup result with Max Verstappen’s triumph. Red Bull has to pay a fine of several million dollars for this.
The world champion team accepted the offer of the International Automobile Federation Fia and thus also admitted the unauthorized additional expenditure, the rule holders of Formula 1 and the team announced.
$7 million fine
The Fia had approached Red Bull after a months-long investigation and had proposed a so-called accepted breach of contract. A right of objection then no longer exists. Red Bull’s competitors, drivers and team bosses, had recently called for tough sanctions in Austin, and there was even talk of fraud. It has now been fined a whopping seven million US dollars. In addition, there are restrictions on the aerodynamic tests over a period of 12 months, which should be sensitive in the high-tech development race of Formula 1.
According to the Fia, Red Bull spent the equivalent of around 2.15 million US dollars more than was allowed (148.6). However, because this is well below the five percent mark, it is rated as “minor”. Because the team was also cooperative throughout the process and it was also the first year of the budget limit, Fia Red Bull made the offer to accept breach of contract.
Also Aston Martin penalized
Likewise the British team Aston Martin. The racing team, for which Sebastian Vettel still drives, was only charged with a procedural error. The fine: $450,000. Both decisions can no longer be challenged, this is part of the agreement.
At the Mexican Grand Prix, the competitors will now have the opportunity to classify the penalty from their point of view. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner had emphasized that his team had no development advantage through additional spending. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff did not accept this argument in Austin and reacted with ridicule and scorn after Horner’s billing.
Horner escalated the affair on October 22 before Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz died. It was shocking that McLaren CEO Zak Brown – who was sitting next to him during Horner’s testimonies – alleged fraud in a letter not sent to Red Bull to the Fia and the Formula 1 top.
Complex set of rules
He had also pointed out how complex the set of rules was, with a total of 52 pages only to the budget limit. Horner also said that children had been bullied by employees on the playground after Red Bull had been pilloried for so long. While Brown did not verbally fuel the argument any further, Mercedes team boss Wolff said: “I almost had to shed a tear when I heard that.” Nine teams had kept to the budget limit and are now the victim.
After racing teams are said to have spent several hundred million dollars in the past, Formula 1 had agreed on a spending limit after years of recurring discussions. On the one hand, this is intended to achieve greater equality of opportunity among the participating teams. On the other hand, the motorsport premier class wants to make itself more attractive for other manufacturers in combination with further reforms as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly racing series.