F1 news: Red Bull, Verstappen’s 2021 title called into question over alleged spending cap breaches
Red Bull says it will consider action over “hugely defamatory” claims about its salary cap as F1’s spending war of words took another ugly turn.
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Team boss Christian Horner has hit back at claims from rivals that Red Bull had exceeded Formula One’s cost cap as “fictitious”, adding they were considering taking action after “hugely defamatory” accusations.
Rumours had swirled around the paddock at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday after two European publications, Auto Motor und Sport in Germany and Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, claimed Red Bull and Aston Martin had broken the 2021 spending ceiling.
The governing body FIA introduced the budget cap, set at $145 million, for the first time last year to make racing more competitive.
Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies told the BBC: “It’s now no secret that two teams broke the 2021 budget cap.” And Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1 that the breaches were “an open secret in the paddock”.
But a tetchy Horner hit back Saturday as he told reporters in Singapore he wanted the accusations withdrawn.
“We were a little bit taken aback by comments that were coming in from two of our rival teams yesterday,” Horner said.
“The submission to the FIA is confidential. I would be intrigued to know where their source of information for these fictitious claims have come from.
“They’re hugely defamatory. We take umbrage to them. Unless there is a clear withdrawal of those statements, we will be taking it incredibly seriously and looking at what the options available to us are.”
The 10 teams had to submit their audited accounts to the sport’s governing body FIA by March 31, who are investigating if anyone has broken the budgetary rules.
“We made our submission in March and we stand by that 100 percent behind that submission that we are below the cap,” said Horner.
“For teams, that are not party to any form of the submission, to be making claims about our submission and prospective penalties is just bang out of order.”
The FIA is due to report its findings next week and late Friday issued a statement, calling the paddock rumours “unsubstantiated”.
“The FIA is currently finalising the assessment of the 2021 financial data submitted by all Formula 1 teams,” it said “Alleged breaches of the Financial Regulations, if any, will be dealt with according to the formal process set out in the regulations.
“The FIA notes significant and unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture in relation to this matter and reiterates the assessment is ongoing and due process will be followed without consideration to any external discussion.” Horner could not hide his fury at what had unfolded on the first race weekend where Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has a mathematical chance to clinch this year’s world championship.
“It is absolutely unacceptable to be making comments of the type that were made yesterday,” said Horner.
“One can only assume it is not a coincidence, you know, that this is at the point where Max has his first shot at winning the world title.
“And here we are talking about nothing but cost caps rather than the phenomenal performance that he has had this year.” The FIA views any overspend of less than five percent of the cap to be “minor” with penalties ranging from fines to points deductions for drivers and constructors.
A more serious “material” breach carries a maximum penalty of expulsion from the championship.
If Red Bull are found to have breached the cap, it would cast a further shadow over Verstappen’s first world title, won in controversial circumstances in the final race of 2021 in Abu Dhabi.
RIVALS OPEN UP ON SHOCK F1 SALARY CAP CLAIMS
Callum Dick
Mercedes principal Toto Wolff claims it is an open secret within the paddock that Red Bull is being investigated by the FIA over alleged spending cap breaches that he says will cast a shadow over three Formula 1 seasons if proven true.
News of Red Bull’s alleged spending transgressions broke during practice at the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of a weekend in which Max Verstappen could secure his second consecutive world championship title if results fall his way.
Instead the legitimacy of the Dutchman’s maiden world championship has been thrown into question, with Red Bull alleged to have overspent well beyond the $145 million cap set by the FIA for the 2021 season.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1 it was nothing more than “rumours and gossip” but Wolff, who has shared a public professional feud with his counterpart for years, said it was an open secret within the paddock.
“Funny that Christian says that because it’s been weeks and months (that) they are being investigated. Maybe he doesn’t speak to his CFO,” Wolff said.
Horner repeatedly shot down the rumour that Red Bull was one of two teams who could be found to have breached the spending cap when the FIA releases its findings on Wednesday.
“We’re confident in the submission we’ve made so I wouldn’t listen to too much idol gossip and rumour … (we) know how we operated within the financial regulations last year,” he said.
Under FIA regulations, teams found to have spent less than five per cent ($7.5 million) of the spending cap can be hit with “minor” sporting penalties that could include deduction of constructors and/or drivers points as well as race bans.
A breach in excess of five per cent of the total cap, which is what Red Bull is alleged to have done, could be met with “material” sporting penalties including exclusion from the world championship.
It is unclear how harsh the FIA would come down on teams found to have exceeded the spending cap given there is no precedent, however Mercedes and Ferrari are reportedly pushing for significant punishments if teams are found to be guilty.
Wolff said the implications for overspending in one year would be felt over multiple seasons, with teams forced to run similar cars across calendar years as a result of the smaller development budgets.
Given Red Bull is a runaway leader in both the constructors and drivers championship standings this season, the implication is that the team had an unfair leg-up in 2022 by spending more in development the previous year – if the alleged breaches are confirmed true.
“We are using used parts, we are not running what we want to run, we’re not developing what we could be developing,” Wolff said.
“We have made more than 40 people redundant, that are dearly missed in our organisations, and it was a huge, mammoth project to make the cap. I don’t know how many tens of millions we had to restructure in order to be below the cap and if someone has not been doing that or pushing the boundaries, every million is a massive disadvantage.”
Red Bull’s title rivals can smell blood in the water and are publicly pressuring the FIA to come down hard if the spending breaches are confirmed true next week.
Ferrari racing director told Sky Italia “it’s now no secret that two reams broke the 2021 budget cap regulations”.
“We regard this as something very serious and expect (the) FIA to manage (the) situation in exemplary fashion.”
Just days after his 25th birthday, on a weekend where Verstappen could secure his second world championship title with five races to spare, this is not the distraction he or the team needed.
Regardless of how the cards fall on Sunday night in Singapore, all eyes will shift immediately to Wednesday and the FIA’s findings.
Defiant Hamilton adamant F1 ‘dry spell’ won’t last
– AFP
Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Wednesday he does not see it as “a dry spell” or “end of the world” if he fails to win a race this season.
The Briton has struggled all year in his Mercedes and ahead of Sunday night’s race in Singapore is well out of the running for another world title, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the cusp of retaining his crown.
It is a far cry from last season, when the two went head to head for the title in the final race, and Hamilton and Mercedes are yet to take a chequered flag this term.
“I do not look at it as a dry spell. I feel this year has been a year of growth. It has been a good experience for all,” Hamilton told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
“There are six races (left) so there’s six opportunities and we will try to get a win, but if we do not do well, I do not think it is the end of the world.
“We will get back to the top.”
The 37-year-old called this “one of the toughest seasons” of his career, having wrestled with a car that has suffered from porpoising — bouncing at high speed — and been found wanting against the dominant Red Bulls.
“We just need to understand the car,” Hamilton added.
For all that, along with teammate and fellow Briton George Russell, Mercedes are battling with Ferrari for second in the constructors’ championship.
“Our goal is a second placing. Hopefully, in the next six races, we will do well,” he said.
Earlier, Mercedes signed an agreement to extend their title sponsorship with Malaysian oil giant Petronas with a multi-year contract until at least 2029.
F1’S DRASTIC CHANGE TO 2023 CALENDAR
Rebecca Clancy
Formula One has confirmed that it will double the number of sprint races next season to six.
The decision to increase the number of Saturday sprints, which are a third of race distance and do not require a pit stop, was agreed by all ten teams and Formula One chiefs earlier this year but the announcement was delayed by the new FIA president, Mohammed bin Sulayem.
The president was said to be concerned about the increase in workload for FIA staff, although there were reports that the governing body had been looking for an increase in the money it receives annually from Formula One.
An agreement was finally reached on Tuesday at the World Motor Sport Council, though its conditions were not made public. The six sprint races will be added to the record-breaking 24-race calendar in 2023, though their locations are yet to be confirmed.
Formula One first introduced sprint races during the 2021 season, with a Saturday sprint at Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos. On sprint weekends, traditional qualifying is held on Friday and determines the grid for the sprint on Saturday, which in turn decides the grid for Sunday’s main race.
As for next year’s grid, it is a matter of one down, four to go as a further piece in the F1 jigsaw for next season fell into place with Alfa Romeo announcing that they will retain Zhou Guanyu.
Now there are only four seats remaining in the late-season scramble for a place on the grid when the 2023 campaign gets under way in Bahrain on March 5.
Alfa Romeo have joined Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin in finalising a driver line-up at the end of a season in which Sebastian Vettel’s retirement, Fernando Alonso’s team switch and Daniel Ricciardo’s defenestration have helped to spark a round of musical chairs.
On the face of it, Guanyu, Formula One’s first Chinese driver, has had an underwhelming season — he’s 17th in the standings with a best finish of 9th — but that ignores his recent improvements, which unfortunately for him have coincided with a decline in the car’s performance. Nonetheless, if Alfa Romeo can hold their position of sixth in the constructor’s championship it will mark the team’s best result for ten years.
That improvement, coupled with his financial backing and, perhaps, the return of the Chinese Grand Prix next year after a three-year hiatus due to Covid, have led the team to sign the 23-year-old up for a second season.
Now only Alpine, Alpha Tauri, Haas and Williams are waiting to fill a seat. Alpha Tauri have announced a line-up but it is widely expected that Pierre Gasly will depart to join Alpine as a replacement for the Aston Martin-bound Alonso.
Red Bull’s junior team, however, will only let the Frenchman go if they can find a suitable replacement. Americans are in hot demand with three races — Miami, Texas and Las Vegas — in the States next year and a rapidly expanding fan base.
Alpha Tauri had been eyeing up Colton Herta, the IndyCar driver, but confirmation from the FIA, F1’s governing body, that he did not meet the requirements needed for a superlicence have scuppered that idea.
Instead they are now looking at Nyck de Vries, who impressed in his F1 debut in Monza last time out, finishing ninth while driving for Williams after being called up at short notice to replace Alex Albon, who had appendicitis.
The 27-year-old Dutchman could also be an option for Williams, who have a seat available after announcing the departure of Nicholas Latifi last week. Logan Sargeant, another American driver presently lying third in the F2 championship, is also high on their wishlist.
WILL SCHUMACHER HAVE A DRIVE?
Another possibility is Mick Schumacher. His contract at Haas is up at the end of this season and the American outfit is not expected to retain his services for a third year.
If they do decide to move on from the 23-year-old German, he could be replaced by his compatriot Nico Hülkenberg — who made his F1 debut 12 years ago but has more recently been Aston Martin’s reserve driver — as Haas are looking for more experience. Hülkenberg, 35, has the unenviable record of the most race starts without a podium finish but regularly deputised for drivers who caught Covid during the pandemic.
All this would suggest that Ricciardo will be without a drive next year. The eight-time race winner will leave McLaren at the end of this season after yet another underwhelming campaign, even though he had a contract until the end of 2023.
The Australian would appear to be leaning towards taking a sabbatical next year and then eyeing up a more competitive drive for the 2024 season.
It is not unheard of for experienced drivers to step away and then return, just as Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso have done in recent years.
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