The Red Bull topic has been highly discussed in the paddock. The behavior of the Milton Keynes team is very aggressive and nothing is left to chance: Formula 1 is governed by three different regulations and the Austrian team enters the competition with a well-known ability both in technical, sporting and financial regulations.
The combo of the three things produces a structure capable of winning the second world championship in a row, even after the profound change in the rules with the introduction of ground-effect single-seaters. The Red Bull characteristic is to carry on the development of the car well into the season, when others begin to look to the following season, as if the budget cap existed for everyone else, but not for them.
Christian Horner’s staff did not hesitate to reinvest the extra budget that the FIA granted during the season to mitigate the very strong effects of inflation. Much of that money, it is said, was destined for the study and construction of three new chassis that were subjected to homologation crash tests.
The debut of the lightened chassis should take place at the Singapore GP and is expected to bring the RB18 closer to that minimum weight of 798 kg, a limit that has not yet been achieved, given the fact that Adrian Newey’s 2022 project started the championship with a double-digit overweight and, despite the repeated upgrades aimed at reducing weight, it has never touched the minimum value, although there has been a great effort to lighten every possible detail (part of the bodywork has even been stripped).
“I can’t know what they are doing – admits Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal – if they have a lighter chassis or not. In general, the budget limit is always a concern.” – he admitted – “Technical, sporting and even financial regulations can make a difference between teams in how the rules are interpreted and executed, and we know we need a very strong FIA to have proper attention, otherwise the regulations themselves will not be fair and equitable.”
“As Ferrari, we would never be able to introduce a lightweight chassis over the course of a season, simply for budget reasons and I would be very surprised if other teams were able to do so.” – Mattia Binotto pointed out a few days ago.
A preventive message to the FIA is therefore sent from Maranello and is very clear: the International Federation should open its eyes because the Scuderia could not afford the introduction of a new chassis during the current season due to the lack of adequate resources. It is true that Ferrari is listed on the stock exchange so it cannot even think about certain budget “games”, but the alarm raised is loud and clear …
In short, the drums are starting to roll even if none of the FIA has formalized a report on last year’s budget cap, following all the financial analyzes that were carried out after March, when the teams presented all their financial reports to the FIA.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
And the silence from the FIA leads to doubts: there are those who are saying in a low voice that there is someone who would have pierced the cap budget limit, according to Motorsport. And that there would still be checks in 2021. That’s true, isn’t it? We don’t know, but the whispers push in the direction of Milton Keynes. Is there anyone who can be under the FIA’s magnifying glass for compliance with financial rules?
Just like Nikolas Tombazis’ technical stewards certify the cars’ compliance at each race, the FIA’s finance department should make the budget cap reports public. Not only to remove any rumors from Red Bull, but also to demonstrate that transparency often invoked just in statements.
Leave a Reply