The bullet is through the church, it seems. After no doubt a lot of discussion, the FIA has determined what the penalties will be for Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin for exceeding the budget cap in 2021. Several websites, including Motorsport.comreport that the teams have a Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) have signed. They plead guilty and accept their sentences.
According to Motorsport.com is the judgment that Red Bull Racing was guilty of a ‘minor violation’. On top of the allowed amount of 145 million euros, they spent 1.8 million euros too much. According to team boss Horner, Verstappen’s team did not benefit from the extra expenditure because it would have been spent on peripheral matters and not on the car.
The penalties for Red Bull
Red Bull Racing would receive a financial penalty and a sporting penalty. The first is self-explanatory: they have to pay a fine. The second penalty is according to Motorsport a reduction in the time they are allowed to spend in the wind tunnel. This gives them less chance to further develop the aerodynamics of the car.
Other teams will probably have an opinion about this penalty. Basically this means that teams with deep pockets don’t have to stick to the budget cap as strictly as they can easily afford the fine. On the other hand, this is only 1.8 million euros and what appears to be an honest mistake. The hassle of the past few weeks is also a good reason not to cross the line.
The penalties for Aston Martin
Aston Martin seems to get away with a small financial penalty. It would also have been just a ‘procedural error’ with this team. So the most important thing is that all teams and all drivers are allowed to keep their points from both 2021 and 2022.
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