“Red Bull’s breach of two million is a significant figure, this is a fact that cannot be denied.” – Mattia Binotto, Scuderia Ferrari team principal, interviewed by Sky Sport F1 Italy during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, underlined the comments previously made by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff that the FIA has recognized an illegality made by the Milton Keynes team, which was the only team not to respect the budget cap rules in the first season in which the Formula 1 spending limit was introduced.
The penalty received by Red Bull – 10% less hours in the wind tunnel and a 7 million dollar fine to be paid to the FIA within 30 days – obviously did not satisfy the opponents of the Austrian team led by Christian Horner, but Toto Wolff after the vocal comments and accusations issued during the Singapore GP weekend, in Mexico has changed the tone of his statements, pointing out that he appreciated the work of the FIA and the fact that a sanction has been reached, even if it is not as harsh as it should have been.
What Red Bull’s competitors were hoping for was a reduction of the budget available for the 2023 Formula 1 season, but this will not be the case and, indeed, the money not spent from the reduction of the hours allocated to the wind tunnel could be allocated to other areas such as the weight of the car and suspension, as Mattia Binotto noted.
In 2022, Red Bull was able to overturn a championship that had not started in an ideal way for them, but the Austrian side gradually introduced updates that allowed the RB18 above all to lose weight, with continuous and extensive work on the floor of the car, on the sidepods and on the engine cover to improve its aerodynamic efficiency since the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Team Principal Christian Horner, questioned on whether he fears this situation could repeat itself with other teams regarding the budget cap limits for 2022, replied that “looking around I have no particular ideas (in reference to what the opponents did in terms of expenses and developments, ed) and also we were the team that had the fewest crashes of all”.
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Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has repeatedly invited the FIA to be diligent and pay close attention when performing the checks on the budget cap limits, comments made by the Maranello team principal long before this matter appeared in Singapore, regarding the financial rules for 2021.
Mercedes has also introduced a lot of updates on their W13 during the season, just like Red Bull. In a press conference at the end of the Mexican Grand Prix, Mattia Binotto, when asked about Mercedes expenses potentially being above the budget cap, he replied as following: “I don’t know how to answer and I don’t want to have any doubts. We leave these checks to the FIA. Or rather we hope it will not be necessary to wait until October 2023 to know the truth about 2022. For us I can guarantee that we are preparing for the 2023 season by doing things correctly.”
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