Red Bull set to be cleared over ‘minor’ F1 cost cap breach

Red Bull could be set to escape severe punishment for breaching last year’s budget cap in Formula 1, with a report stating that its overspend was ‘minor’.

In Singapore, reports emerged that two teams, one of which was Red Bull, exceeded F1’s budget cap of $145 million last year.

However, it appears that Red Bull may have only breached the cap by $1m, according to the Daily Mail.

The FIA is set to issue certificates of compliance to teams on Wednesday, but it is believed that there may be a delay for some outfits.

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Exceeding the quota by less than five per cent is considered to be a minor violation, and if this is the category that Red Bull falls into, it is set to escape a grave punishment.

The report suggests that rival teams accused Red Bull of overspending the budget by £10m, which would be considered a serious breach of the financial regulations.

The FIA has outlined in its rulebook that the most excessive penalties for a budget cap violation could go as far as exclusion from the World Championship. 

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said it was “unrealistic” to expect that Max Verstappen would be stripped of his maiden F1 title if Red Bull was found guilty.

However, he suggested that it was an “open secret” in the paddock that two teams were being investigated, a comment that angered Horner.

“How on earth can any team know that a team is in breach or not?” Horner said last weekend in Singapore. 

“We don’t even know if we’re in breach or not. We don’t even know until next week, until the process has been completed. 

“So perhaps, when these accusations are made, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

“And, you know, we take umbrage, and extremely seriously the remarks that have been made, because, you know, is it any coincidence that Max has his first shot at winning a world title and here we are talking nothing but cost caps, you know, rather than the phenomenal performance that he has had this year.”