Red Bull found to have committed minor breach of 2021 F1 budget cap

The FIA has ruled that Red Bull did exceed the budget cap for the 2021 season. The sport’s governing body has concluded its assessments of all the Formula One teams’ budget submissions for last season and found, as was alleged at last week’s Singapore Grand Prix, that Red Bull had committed what it referred to as a “minor breach” of the stipulated $145m (£127m) ceiling.

Aston Martin and Williams were found to have committed a procedural breach of the cap, amounting to an error on forms, not going over the permitted spend.

A punishment for Red Bull racing has not been revealed. A minor breach is an overspend of less than 5%. The FIA did not reveal the exact figure relating to the breach although it is understood to amount to less than £2m. Anything above 5% would have been considered a material breach (5% equates to a spend of $7.25m or £5.6m) and carried potentially more serious penalties, including the deduction of points or the exclusion of a team from the Formula One world championship, which would have potentially changed the outcome of last year’s title race, narrowly won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

A statement from the sporting federation read: “The FIA cost cap administration has issued certificates of compliance to seven of the 10 competitors.

“The review of the reporting documentation submitted has been an intensive and thorough process, and all competitors gave their full support in providing the required information to assess their financial situation during this first year of the financial regulations.

“The FIA would also note that with respect to this first year of the application of the financial regulations the intervention of the FIA cost cap administration has been limited