Red Bull Claims "Six Teams Are Over" The Cost Cap As Concerns Of 2022 Breaches Arise

Red Bull has accused six teams of exceeding the cost cap in 2022, as Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali expresses concern over this year's budget processing.

This follows the findings of the 2021 cost cap breach, which saw Red Bull receive a $7 million fine and a reduction in wind tunnel time for the 2023 season. Aston Martin was the only other team found to have gone over budget, receiving a $450,000 fine.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has claimed that many teams will break the cap, citing energy price inflation as a factor. He explained:

“I think what we have set is a precedent. And it sets a precedent for 2022. And a danger for 2022 is that there could be six teams in breach of the cap. Energy prices have been exponential, but thankfully we’ve been protected from that.

“But there is that chance that several teams, many of which have stated it during F1 commission meetings, will break the cap this year."

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has also claimed that six teams are currently over the budget. He commented:

“I think the current status is that six teams are over it.

“Inflation is something that was not calculable to that extent, especially when it comes to energy costs."

The backlash from fans and some team principals over the cost cap breach stems from the perception that the fine and punishment was too lenient. The aim of the cost cap is to level the playing field and make the sport more competitive. However, the larger teams could continue to overspend if they can account for the cost of fines on top of their spending.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has joined the criticism, describing Red Bull's punishment as "very low" and pointing out the development gains they may have made through overspending. Vasseur also highlighted Red Bull's DRS system as a significant advantage, calling for greater scrutiny to understand how they achieved it. He claimed:

“I think it was not a penalty. It was very low. If you consider that basically, we will improve a bit less than one second over the season in terms of aero, you get the penalty of 10% of this, it's one tenth.

“And as it's not a linear progression, it's probably less, and you are allowed to spend this money somewhere else. But it means that for me the penalty is marginal.

"I am convinced that the penalty was very light. If you consider the rate of development that we have during the season, if you consider the fact that if you have a 10% balance at the end, it's not something linear, you are also putting the performance.

“Then that you can spend what you are saving on the wind tunnel, you can spend it somewhere else on the weight saving and so on.

“I'm not sure that the effect is mega. And if you consider that you have an advantage at the beginning of the season, because you spent more the year before.

“I don't want to say that they didn't do a good job, because I think honestly that they did a very good job on the car.

“I am not trying to find excuse at all. It's not this. But if you ask me if the penalty is too light, I say yes.

“They have a mega big DRS effect, bigger than everybody else. We have to understand how they're able to do something like this.

“I think it was probably even more obvious last year, but we compensated part of the gap. But we have still to improve on this.”

The cost cap remains a key issue for the sport, as teams navigate the challenge of remaining competitive while adhering to budgetary constraints. The budgets were submitted by the teams on March 31. Only time will tell if there have been any breaches.