Red Bull guilty of overspending in 2021, but Verstappen will likely keep championship

Heading into the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, it came to light that two teams were in breach of the 2021 Formula 1 budget cap. Though not confirmed, it was speculated that the guilty teams were Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin.

Following the Japanese GP last weekend, F1's governing body, the FIA, has released the results of their findings into the ten F1 teams' 2021 expenditures, confirming that Aston Martin and Red Bull were guilty of one or more transgressions.

According to the report, Aston Martin is considered to be in a Procedural Breach of the financial regulations. Red Bull is guilty of the same offence as well as 'minor overspend'. The Austrian team has been found to have spent less than 5% over the allocated $145 million budget cap, though the FIA is yet to announce the exact amount.

If less than 5%, Red Bull could have spent as much as $7.25m on top of the allocated amount.

The FIA confirmed its "Cost Cap Administration is currently determining the appropriate course of action to be taken under the financial regulations." However, it's unlikely that the punishment Red Bull is facing will be severe. According to Sky Sports F1, a realistic penalty could range from a reprimand to a limitation on aerodynamic testing, and/or a reduction in the team's future cost cap limit.

The 'procedural breach' is because of a mistake in the financial report. The Williams F1 team was guilty of the same mistake earlier in 2022 and the FIA fined them $25 000.

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An unfair advantage

Mercedes-AMG team boss Toto Wolff said: "The crucial part is that if you have been over in 2021, then you've been over in 2022, and that means you have an advantage