Martin Brundle says Red Bull must be punished to stop other teams from breaching F1’s financial rules

Former Formula 1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle says Red Bull must be punished to stop other teams from breaching the budget cap.

On Monday, the FIA confirmed that Red Bull had committed a ‘minor’ breach of the cap for the 2021 season, though the exact amount and the punishment the team will face is yet to be decided.

In a statement, Red Bull said they were ‘surprised and disappointed’ by the FIA’s findings, continuing to plea their innocence and are set to appeal the decision.

Penalties range from fines and reprimands to points deductions to bans on testing and restricting their budget for future seasons.

Brundle seemed to suggest that a harsh punishment would be better in order to dissuade teams from overspending but also believes that the rules need revising, given that a ‘minor’ overspend can still have a significant effect on a car’s performance.

When asked whether the news had hurt the integrity of F1, Brundle told Sky Sports: ‘Not really no, as long as it [the budget cap] is controlled and as long as the penalties are crystal clear, and hard enough.

‘I think it’s fundamentally a good system and it is early stages, we have to remember that. It’s just the detail now and it’s got to be made clear that you stick to the cost cap or just under it otherwise, it’s going to hurt.

‘What seems crazy to me is that a minor breach can be up to 5% overspend on the cost cap. That’s around $7million. We know that’s a massive upgrade on a car, maybe even a B-spec for some teams.

‘It needs tightening up because the other teams will be under pressure. The team boss will be saying, “why didn’t you do this? Why don’t you overspend a bit and pay a fine or get a slap on the wrist and go a tenth or two faster?”‘

As well as calling on the FIA