The Formula One Teams’ Association is to launch an investigation into claims that Red Bull outspent the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA).
The RRA is a FOTA only policy and isn’t policed by the FIA. It was introduced to reduce costs of development, staffing levels and resources to ensure a team doesn’t gain an unfair advantage.
Several reports claim Red Bull in particular, overspent during 2010 to ensure they claimed both titles. Almost all their rivals believe these reports to be true, but are yet to publicly admit it.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has vehemently denied such reports, claiming the outfit has ‘absolutely adhered’ to the agreement.
“We’ve worked in accordance with the RRA limits since they were introduced,” Horner told BBC Sport. “With tremendous hard work and internal efficiencies, we believe we’ve absolutely adhered to it.
“Red Bull has committed its budgets wisely and it’s obviously surprising that people will feel that way, but it’s inevitable, I guess, when you’re at the front and winning races.”
As part of the investigation, Red Bull have submitted their accounts for scrutiny by FOTA. Horner admitted he expects them to be challenged by their competitors.
“We expect other teams to potentially challenge [whether we have overspent] as they have done on front wings and ride heights and everything else in the course of last year. But we don’t have any issue.
“Red Bull probably has the third or fourth biggest budget in F1. We spent prudently and have achieved great efficiency within the factory, and we have to top that in 2011.”
If found guilty, Red Bull’s 2011 budget will be reduced in accordance with the amount they overspent by last season. As the policy isn’t part of the official regulations, their results will remain unchanged.
