Christian Horner's comments on F1 rule breach resurface as Red Bull faces FIA penalty

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has hinted teams would breach F1's budget cap rules when they were introduced two years ago. The team manager suggested that teams would spend their budget plus "an extra 10%" even if there was a cap.

This has come to light after the FIA ​​discovered Red Bull were the only team to exceed the £114m ($145m) cap last season. Writing in a throwback to 2020, Horner said: "Money is a hot topic among F1 teams at the moment.

"The problem is that there is so much talk about the cost cap figure that I think it misses the point. F1 teams will always spend the budget they have. Plus 10% additional.

“It is impossible to compare spending from Ferrari to Haas, from Mercedes to Racing Point or even from Red Bull to AlphaTauri. They are all completely different structures and business models. look at what drives those costs up in the first place, which is the R&D cost of building and developing cars in hopes of being competitive."

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Red Bull's overspending is considered 'minor', meaning the team broke the rules by less than 5% of the total amount. Details on the penalty the team is to receive have not yet been made public.

However, penalties for a minor infraction include a reprimand, point deduction, limitations on certain tests, and a reduction in next season's cost cap. But Max Verstappen is unlikely to be kicked out of the world championship as the team didn't exceed five percent for a "material" outlay.

Red Bull said: "We note with surprise and disappointment the FIA's findings on 'minor breaches of the financial regulations regarding budget overruns'.

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"Our 2021 bid was below the cost cap limit, so we must carefully consider the FIA's findings, as our fundamental belief remains that the relevant costs are below the 2021 cost cap amount.< /p>

“Despite the guesswork and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA ​​which we will respectfully follow as we consider all options available to us.” Aston Martin has also been accused of making a "procedural gap" in the disclosure of its financial data, which is likely to result in a fine.