Christian Horner reaffirmed his confidence that Red Bull adhered to Formula One’s budget cap guidelines throughout the 2017 season, as the FIA prepares to disclose the results of its inquiry into whether the team breached the limit.
At the Singapore Grand Prix, reports surfaced that Red Bull and Aston Martin had over the $145 million budget cap during Max Verstappen’s championship-winning season. However, Christian Horner, the team principal for Red Bull, constantly denied the charges.
Sergio Pérez secured a dominant victory for the team in Singapore, while Max Verstappen could only finish eighth. However, Verstappen remains on track to defend his drivers’ championship at the next race this weekend in Japan.
As the teams go to the next round, the FIA is evaluating all the teams’ financial filings and can apply penalties for rule violations, which might alter the outcome of last season’s championship, in which Max Verstappen narrowly defeated Lewis Hamilton.
Toto Wolff, the team principal for Mercedes, described it as a “known secret” in the paddock that two teams had overspent the previous season, giving them an unfair material advantage. After Sunday’s race, Horner reiterated his view that the team complied with all requirements.
When asked if he was concerned about the FIA’s decision, Horner sounded confident. “No. We have complete faith in our submission,” he stated. “Our auditors have approved our audit. We believe we are well within the limit.”
The guidelines designate two categories of budget-limit violations: those of less than 5% are considered minor, and anything above that threshold is considered a major, substantial violation. For the latter, the governing body may apply sanctions such as a point deduction or removal from the championship.
On Saturday, Horner characterized some of Wolff’s comments as libelous and threatened legal action, which he claimed remained an option.
“What I said remains,” he declared. “We shall evaluate all available choices. It was entirely wrong to make a wholly unjustified accusation, and on what basis? Where is this information obtained?
“It was a confidential document between the team and FIA. I am unaware of the compliance status of any of our competitors. Therefore, where does this knowledge reportedly originate? ”
Verstappen holds a championship lead of 104 points over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and 106 points over teammate Sergio Pérez. With five races remaining, he will win his second championship if he is 112 points ahead of the other two drivers after the Suzuka race. If Leclerc finishes lower than second, he must win.
