Formula One drivers, teams at loggerheads as decision over Red Bull salary cap delayed again
As Brad Pitt stole the show at the F1 Austin GP, bickering, squabbling and name-calling have overshadowed events on the track. Go inside the spat over salary cap cheating claims.
As one walked through the Formula One paddock on Friday, hours before any wheel had been turned in anger, it was easy to forget that there was actually any track action this weekend.
Max Verstappen wrapped up the drivers’ championship last time out in Japan and his Red Bull team are more than likely to complete the double this weekend when they sew up the constructors’ title, their first in nine years.
But off the track, the paddock more resembles a playground. There has been bickering and squabbling, name-calling and insults, accusations of this and that, but none of it done face to face, as the issue surrounding Red Bull’s breach of the budget cap last year overshadows yet another race weekend.
The problem is, this is not a playground. It is a multibillion-dollar sport, where fully grown adults appear incapable of holding sensible conversations, or even being able to arrange meetings to have talks in the first place. And it is damaging for the sport - something the players involved seem to be unaware of.
The FIA, the sport’s governing body, found Red Bull to be in breach of last year’s dollars 145 million (pounds 114 million) budget cap. The overspend amounts to roughly pounds 1.8 million and therefore falls into the “minor” breach category for less than a 5 per cent overspend. A fine is expected, as is some sort of sporting penalty such as a reduction in wind-tunnel time or even next year’s budget.
It is understood that when the FIA announced the findings of its financial audits nearly two weeks ago, it gave Red Bull the penalty that they proposed.
Red Bull maintain that they are under the cap and that any overspend was a result of a mistake at their end to do with taxes, but also blame an amendment to the rules made after the submission of their financial data, which pushed them even further over, and say they were not allowed to rectify the issue. That may explain their reluctance to sign up to an “agreed breach agreement” and admit guilt.
Red Bull had called a press conference for yesterday (Friday) morning in the expectation that a resolution with the FIA would have been reached by then.
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, had expected to speak to Mohammed ben Sulayem, the FIA president, on Thursday but the call, it is understood, was not a productive one and instead it was decided to have a face-to-face meeting in the paddock yesterday (Friday). That did not happen.
If Red Bull choose not to accept the penalty dished out by the FIA’s Cost Cap Administration, which has been in charge of the process of auditing the accounts, the team can go to an independent panel of accountants to decide their punishment. If they still do not agree, then they can take the dispute to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. All the teams and the FIA were in talks for months before and after the submission of their accounts, so it is surprising that it has been two weeks since it was announced that one team had overspent without any official word from either side on the outcome. Any penalty should be a deterrent to any future overspend so that the sport gets the level playing field it wanted when it created the budget cap.
There needs to be full transparency from the FIA on what they found, with Red Bull laying out their defence of the overspend. Exceeding budgets is an extremely important issue, which has huge ramifications and could potentially affect the outcome of a championship. That it is dragging on, with mutterings rather than official statements, is not acceptable in sport.
While Horner and Bin Sulayem have not yet met, one meeting that did happen was with all the team principals, who were called in to discuss the Brad Pitt-backed Formula One film. Pitt was in the meeting, along with the producer Jerry Bruckheimer and the director Joseph Kosinski, who also directed Top Gun: Maverick, to brief everyone on their plans for the production. Greg Maffei, the chief executive of Liberty Media, which owns F1, was also in attendance to highlight what a big deal the film is. The hope is that it can make F1 even more popular than Netflix’s Drive to Survive, which has already been a huge boost for the sport.
Lewis Hamilton is also a co-producer and has had input on the script but was not in yesterday’s (Friday’s) meeting in the paddock. It was said to be a productive meeting, with plans for the film moving quickly, though a timeframe for filming has not been established.
There was more off-track news as the FIA announced the findings of its investigation into the mess of the Japanese Grand Prix, when a recovery vehicle was put on the track in the pouring rain without the drivers’ knowledge, and Pierre Gasly missed it by metres.
With the rain truncating the race, there was also confusion at the end as Verstappen was crowned champion, with the full points being awarded despite only half the race having been run.
In its findings, the FIA said it “would have been prudent to delay” the recovery vehicles given the weather conditions. It admitted that race control had not been aware of where Gasly was on track, as he had pitted so was not behind the safety car, and that going forward, “in such conditions, a recovery vehicle should not be deployed unless cars are aligned behind the Safety Car”.
The FIA added: “Furthermore, marshals and recovery equipment would only be deployed whilst cars are on track [Safety Car periods] when the weather conditions and location of the cars to be recovered allow for a quick and safe intervention.”
The report also announced the end of rotating race directors. Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas have shared the role this year, but Wittich will now do the remaining four races. The FIA offered no explanation. The FIA will also “revisit” the wording of the regulation that awarded Verstappen the full points, despite the shortened distance, with the expectation that it will be changed to reflect what the teams had expected: reduced points for a reduced race distance. Most of these changes will be in place for this weekend.
F1 DRIVERS REVOLT OVER RED BULL CAP CHEAT SAGA
AFP
Valtteri Bottas led the way on Thursday as some of Formula One’s leading drivers called for Red Bull to be punished severely for breaching the sport’s budget cap last year.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, and a likely Red Bull news conference on Friday, the former Mercedes driver, now with Alfa Romeo, said he hoped for a harsh penalty that hurt.
“I personally hope it’s going to be a strict and harsh penalty because it shouldn’t happen - the rules are the rules,” Bottas told a scheduled official news conference.
“It shouldn’t be any different with the penalty. Let’s hope it’s a penalty that hurts them.” Bottas was team-mate to seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton when he was beaten on the last lap of the controversial season-ending 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“I was in the fight with them for the constructors’ title,” said the Finn. “Yes, we got that, but not the drivers’ - we lost by a few points. A few millions can make a big difference.” F1’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA) found Red Bull committed a “minor” breach of the $145 million spending cap after an exhaustive investigation, it announced earlier this month. The breach, it was explained, was less than five per cent of the limit, estimated to be $7.25 million.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz backed Bottas.
He said: “I think every team and every driver wants clarity and fairness. We all know how much one, two, three or four million can make to car development and speed.
“That’s why, years ago, the top three were spending $350 million and now we spend $145 million.”
-PEREZ BACKS RED BULL
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez defended his team as they seek, this weekend, to clinch their first constructors’ title since 2013, two weeks after Verstappen completed his runaway second drivers’ championship triumph in Japan.
“We believe we are in line and we believe that everything will come up in the right situation,” he said. “I will leave it down to my team to solve that with the FIA.
“At the end of the day, there are always teams that want to take performance out of you, especially if you are winning -- that’s part of the sport.” While the drivers made public comments, paddock observers and team sources claimed the team were considering an offer from the FIA to accept a proposed punishment, as part of an “accepted breach agreement”, a scenario likely to be explained by the team at an informal news briefing ahead of practice on Friday.
Red Bull has expressed surprise and disappointment at the charges made against them and is expected to argue that the overspend was not used to improve car development.
The team has to decide between accepting the FIA offer or taking legal action and taking the case before a judiciary panel which could result in heavier sanctions.
The possible penalties include a fine, a reduced budget cap, wind tunnel testing restrictions and points deductions, which if applied retrospectively could strip Verstappen of his 2021 championship.
“I just hope that if there is a penalty, it is important to take away the appetite for overspending two or three million on next year’s car because you think it is worth it,” added Sainz. “It needs to be clear for everyone.”
HAAS CALLS FOR CONSEQUENCES
Haas team boss Guenther Steiner added his voice on Thursday to those calling for Red Bull to face “consequences” if they gained an advantage by breaking Formula One’s budget cap last year.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix where the American-owned Haas outfit announced a new title sponsorship deal with MoneyGram, to start next season, Steiner said: “There are regulations and they have to be followed.
“There must be consequences.” Red Bull were named by F1’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation, on October 10 as having exceeded the sport’s $145 million spending limit, but without giving further details.
The FIA said the breach of the rules had been “minor” and has yet to announce any punishment.
Steiner admitted that he was uncertain how Red Bull had overspent and how close the team was to the ‘minor’ threshold of five per cent, believed to be around seven million dollars.
But, he told RTL: “I think the FIA must take action.
“It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, but it does need to be worked through so we set a sign for the future that no one else can do it or that you don’t just get an advantage by breaking rules and paying a fine.” McLaren manager Andreas Seidl, whose boss Zak Brown wrote to the FIA claiming a budget cap breach “constitutes cheating”, had earlier told Sport Bild magazine that the “events cast a bad light on the sport … Clear violations must be clearly punished.” Brown’s letter was leaked and reported widely last Monday, sparking speculation that Red Bull could face a range of possible sanctions that might include fines and the loss of the 2021 drivers’ title won by Max Verstappen, who clinched his second title in Japan two weeks ago.
For Haas, Thursday’s multi-year sponsorship contract brings welcome optimism after their previous major deal with Uralkali was terminated before this season began following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
MoneyGram is a leading American payments and money transfer company. “We are pleased to welcome an incredible brand like MoneyGram as our new title sponsor,” said team founder Gene Haas.
McLaren also made a sponsorship announcement on Thursday by revealing a deal with Seamless Digital which will see the team trial the use of digital stickers on their cars during the final four practice sessions this season.
On a busy Thursday morning at the Circuit of the Americas, McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo, who leaves the team at the end of the season, chose to arrive on horseback.
The Australian had a guitarist and singer with him.
Ricciardo has been linked with a move to Haas next year, but has suggested he feels a need to take a year off to “reset” himself for a possible return to F1 in 2024.str/jc
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