Max Verstappen says he intends to spend the final four Grand Prix weekends of the season partying over his recent championship triumph, starting Sunday in Austin.
With the driver’s title already wrapped up and Red Bull near certain to win their first constructors’ championship since 2013 in the coming weeks, these are high times for the British-based operation.
At least they would be but for the looming spectre of their cost cap punishment, being the only team to have exceeded the $145m spend limit last season, considered a “minor violation” as they overspent by less than five per cent.
It’s believed Red Bull will not be stripped of their 2021 championship but fury still rages up and down the paddock, not least because of rivals’ assertions any advantage gained one year invariably rolls over to the season that follows.